HUNDREDS STRANDED AT IPOH AIRPORT Selangor may be focus of cloud seeding tomorrow
Flights from Ipoh cancelled or delayed, while flights to the city diverted to KL, Subang over haze
HUNDREDS of passengers were stranded at the Sultan Azlan Shah (SAS) Airport as poor air quality forced flights to be cancelled or delayed yesterday.
SAS Airport manager Mohd Ali Osman said 549 passengers were supposed to fly to Singapore and Johor Baru yesterday, but their flights were cancelled.
Four other flights carrying 555 passengers that were supposed to arrive at SAS Airport were diverted to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (SAAS) Airport in Subang.
“Two Scoot flights from Singapore and one each from Malindo Air and AirAsia were scheduled to arrive at 9am, but are now stranded at KLIA and SAAS Airport.
“These flights needed to be diverted to Kuala Lumpur and Subang due to poor weather conditions,” Ali said at the airport.
He said the airport’s management was trying its best to cooperate with airlines to manage the stranded passengers.
“Based on information as at 2pm, one flight will head here tomorrow morning (today), one flight has been cancelled and the rest are waiting for confirmation.
“We hope the weather will improve so that passengers can fly to their destinations safely.”
Checks at the airport here found passengers who had checked in their luggage claiming their belongings as their flights had been cancelled or delayed.
Some had been waiting since morning and were only aware that
their flights had been delayed when they were at the airport.
Most flights from SAS Airport go to Singapore and Johor Baru.
In Kota Baru, the Department Of Environment (DoE) warned that those caught carrying out open burning could be fined up to RM2,000 on the spot.
Kelantan DoE director Hamzah Muhamad said this stern measure would prevent the haze situation from worsening.
“DoE will not hesitate to take action against those carrying out open burning in the state, as we do not want the haze to worsen.”
He said the department would cooperate with local municipal councils to monitor open burning in the state.
Haze in the state had yet to reach unhealthy levels.
“Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in some districts in Kelantan are still normal.”
DoE has banned open burning nationwide, excluding for cremation or religious purposes, outdoor barbecues and flaring, until the end of the southwest monsoon between May and this month.
DoE director-general Norlin Jaafar said the ban was made under Section 29AA (2) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
Offenders face a maximum fine of RM500,000 or up to five years’ jail, or both, and a maximum compound fine of RM2,000 for every offence.
In Alor Star, farmers have been advised to avoid burning padi husks due to the worsening haze.
State Chinese and Siamese Community Affairs, Science and Technology, Climate Change and Environment Committee chairman Simon Ooi Tze Min said even though it was the harvest season, farmers were advised not to burn padi husks.
“The API in Kulim and Sungai Petani has deteriorated to an unhealthy level. If possible, avoid open burning to prevent the haze from worsening.
“I advise the people to minimise outdoor activities so as not to jeopardise their health,” he told Bernama yesterday.
The API reading in Kulim was 111 and Sungai Petani recorded 113 at noon yesterday.
API readings are categorised as good (zero to 50), moderate (51 to 100),unhealthy (101 to 200), very unhealthy (201 to 300) and hazardous (300 and above).
In Rompin, all 16 schools in the district that closed on Thursday due to the haze reopened yesterday as air quality improved.
A district Education Office spokesman said schools were operating as usual after the API reading in the district dropped to the “moderate” level of 80 on Thursday night from the “very unhealthy” 228 late on Wednesday.
However, he said, the state Education Department was closely monitoring the situation as API readings had been deteriorating.
According to the DoE, readings in Rompin crossed the unhealthy level at 3am yesterday and had gradually increased from 133 at 5am to 161 at 10am.
“At 3am, the reading breached the unhealthy level. We are monitoring the situation before the three-day break (for Malaysia Day),” the spokesman said.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) is expected to conduct a cloud seeding operation (OPA) in Selangor tomorrow as Air Pollutant Index (API) readings continued to rise yesterday.
In many parts of the country, air quality worsened, with Johan Setia in Klang recording a “very unhealthy” reading of 234 at 5pm.
Up to 30 other areas had “unhealthy” readings, with Rompin in Pahang recording a reading of 180, followed by Batu Muda (168), Cheras (156) and Putrajaya (166) in the Federal Territories.
MetMalaysia director-general Jailan Simon said the department had switched its focus to Selangor after the success of the OPA in Sarawak on Thursday.
“We did one OPA yesterday (Thursday) in western Sarawak, which involved Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Betong.
“There were reports of heavy rain after the seeding and the API in most of these areas dropped below 100. So the operation was quite successful.
“However, we decided to stop the operation in Sarawak for now as the API has returned to almost normal and the atmospheric condition is not suitable (for OPA) for the next few days,” he told the
New Straits Times yesterday. Jailan said the OPA in Selangor would be conducted as soon as conditions were favourable.
“Most likely, we will start on Sunday as there some indications of favourable conditions. However, if we think the situation is favourable tomorrow (today), we will do it. We are monitoring the situation day to day.”
Earlier, after visiting Johan Setia, the worst-hit area in the country, Jailan said two planes were on standby at the Air Force base in Subang to carry out OPA.
He said MetMalaysia was ready to conduct OPA in other states if it was needed.
Present during the visit was National Disaster Management Agency director-general Datuk Mohtar Mohd Abd Rahman.
Mohtar said no evidence of open burning was found during the visit and that the haze here was not due to local factors.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the ministry had told 22 health clinics nationwide to monitor respiratory tract infection, conjunctivitis and acute asthmatic attack cases.
He said such cases had seen an increase of 30 to 40 per cent in the past few weeks, caused mainly by the deteriorating air quality.
“Information from the 22 clinics will be used to identify suitable treatments for patients.
“The public should always check API readings, avoid outdoor activities and wear face masks when necessary.”
API readings in other parts of the country remained poor.
In Selangor, many areas had “unhealthy” readings. Kuala Selangor was at 113, Petaling Jaya (155), Shah Alam (146), Klang (147) and Banting (153).
In Kedah, Sungai Petani recorded 105 and Kulim Hi-Tech (106).
In Penang, Minden had the worst reading in the state at 108, followed by Seberang Jaya (103) and Balik Pulau (102).
In Perak, the worst-affected areas were Seri Manjung (141), Tasek Ipoh (134) and Pegoh Ipoh (112).
In Negri Sembilan, unhealthy air choked Seremban (128), Nilai (157) and Port Dickson (132).
In Melaka, unhealthy readings were recorded in Alor Gajah (124), Bukit Rambai (105) and Bandaraya Melaka (107).
In Johor, bad air smothered Segamat (129), Batu Pahat (115), Kluang (104), Larkin (104) and Tangkak (156).
The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) said dry conditions were expected to persist in southern Asean, including Sumatra and Kalimantan.
“Persistent clusters of hotspots continue to be detected in central and southern parts of Sumatra, particularly in the provinces of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra.
“Moderate to dense smoke haze was observed emanating from these hotspots and some of the smoke haze has been blown by the prevailing winds to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.”
ASMC said that in Kalimantan, many areas in west, central, and south Kalimantan continued to be shrouded by moderate to dense haze from persistent hotspots.
Meanwhile, the BHPetrol Orange Run 2019 scheduled for tomorrow will be postponed.
BHPetrol said the 11km run that aimed to promote healthy living had been postponed to protect people from exposure to haze.