Clear skies are back to chase haze blues away
Clear skies areback to chase haze blues away
27 October 2006
published by thestar.com.my
Malaysians are generally glad to have clear blue skies again after theextended hazy spell, but many are wondering how long the good times will last.
Those interviewed yesterday were keeping their fingers crossed that theimproved air quality would continue so that they could resume their normalactivities.
Saying he felt a lot fresher than he had in a long time, engineerKrishna Rao, 32, hoped the skies would stay blue.
I had to cancel my fishing trip because of the haze. This is one of thethings I missed the most, he said.
Many, however, are convinced that the hazy conditions will be back next year.
One of them is student Alice Chia, 18, who was affected greatly by the recenthaze.
Among other things, she had had to cut back on walking to and from college.
Even though we have clear skies now, the haze will be back next year,she said.
Even foreign student Qais Mohed, 24, from Dubai, doubted that the presentconditions would stay.
I’ve been here three years, and it is only in Malaysia that I haveexperienced the haze. I feel it will very likely be back again next year, hesaid.
As at 11am yesterday, 48 areas had Air Pollutant Index (API) readingsclassified as good. These included places that had seen unhealthy readings inthe past weeks such as Johor Baru (23), Malacca (34) and Kuala Lumpur(24).
Only one area, Tawau in Sabah, recorded a reading classified as moderate, at52.
Visibility was also good at 5pm as almost all areas had visibility readingsof more than 10km. Kluang, however, had a reading of just 5km
A Meteorological Services Department forecaster said the currentinter-monsoon period which usually runs from September through to the end ofOctober would help to keep the haze at bay.
The main characteristic of the inter-monsoon period is heavy rains in theafternoons throughout the country.
In terms of clearing of the haze, it is definitely good news, he said.
