JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 17 — The Johor State Government has called on Asean nations to hold an emergency meeting to strengthen fire control and prevention measures as well as hotspot monitoring in the future.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the matter was discussed during the State-Level Disaster Coordination Meeting, which also focused on the risk of cross-border haze following hotspot activities in Indonesia.
He said that Johor has been facing a haze episode since August 25, with several areas recording Air Pollutant Index (API) readings at unhealthy and very unhealthy levels.
“This situation is very alarming, particularly regarding the health and daily lives of the rakyat,” he said via a Facebook post yesterday.
He added that based on the latest information from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), as many as 453 hotspots were detected in Kalimantan, while another 153 were found in Sumatra.
“(This number of hotspots) has the potential to increase the risk of haze if fires occur and smoke moves across the border,” he said.
As of 4:00 pm today, the Department of Environment’s Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (MyEQMS) informed that Pasir Gudang and Larkin were at a very unhealthy level, with an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 202.
Meanwhile, six other areas were at an unhealthy level, namely Pengerang with an API reading of 181, followed by Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi at 171 each, Kluang (168), Tangkak (159), and Segamat (156). — Bernama