JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor state government has called on ASEAN member states to convene an emergency meeting to strengthen fire prevention and control measures, as well as improve hotspot monitoring.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the matter was discussed at the State-Level Disaster Coordination Meeting, which also focused on the risk of cross-border haze caused by hotspot activity in Indonesia.
He said Johor had been experiencing a haze episode since Aug 25, with several areas recording unhealthy and very unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings.
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“This situation is very alarming, particularly in terms of the health and daily lives of the rakyat,” he said in a Facebook post today.
He added that, according to the latest information from the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), 453 hotspots had been detected in Kalimantan, while another 153 were recorded in Sumatra.
“(This number of hotspots) has the potential to increase the risk of haze if fires occur and smoke crosses the border,” he said.
As of 4 pm today, the Department of Environment’s Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (MyEQMS) showed that Pasir Gudang and Larkin had recorded very unhealthy API readings of 202.
Meanwhile, six other areas recorded unhealthy readings: Pengerang at 181, Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi at 171 each, Kluang at 168, Tangkak at 159 and Segamat at 156.