Moderate air quality in most areas, no unhealthy readings - DOE

A total of 66 out of 68 air quality monitoring stations nationwide recorded moderate air quality levels this morning.

Environment Department director-general Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said readings as of 9am today also showed two more stations recording good air quality readings.

“This means that no station recorded unhealthy air status,” he said when commenting on the air quality following the haze.

He said this at a press conference after the 14th emergency simulation exercise to deal with chemical spills by the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE) on the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link Expressway (Linkedua) in Iskandar Puteri today.

According to him, several hotspots were also detected in Sabah, Sarawak, and Pahang, and DOE would continue to monitor.

He added that action would be taken against individuals who engage in open burning under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

Wan Latiff was previously quoted as saying that DOE has increased intensive patrols and physical monitoring in flammable areas, especially agricultural land, peatlands, bushland, abandoned plantations and waste disposal sites that have been identified as high-risk.

According to him, patrol activities and enforcement operations to prevent open burning, which contributes to haze, especially in the current hot and dry weather conditions, will be stepped up.

- Bernama

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