Malaysia should consider developing an early warning system for haze to strengthen preparedness against recurring air pollution episodes and better protect public health, an environmental researcher said.
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) Besut Campus director Associate Professor Dr Azman Azid said the country should move away from mainly managing haze crises as they occur and adopt a more proactive approach focused on prevention.
Azman, who is also a researcher in air quality and environmental issues, said much of the data needed to establish such a system was already available and could be integrated to identify potential haze risks earlier.
He said early detection could help reduce the impact of haze-related respiratory illnesses, particularly as recent health data showed a sharp increase in asthma cases.
“While we focus on the Air Pollutant Index (API) and the movement of smoke, there is another development that is far more concerning, namely its impact on public health.
“The Health Ministry reported that monitoring between Epidemiological Weeks 32 and 33 showed asthma cases rising by 259 per cent, from 61 cases to 219 cases,” he said in a statement today.
Azman said the figures indicated a significant rise in respiratory disease burden as air quality deteriorated, highlighting the need for Malaysia to change how it manages haze.
He proposed shifting towards a system that could forecast risks, prevent exposure, protect communities and respond to worsening conditions instead of relying mainly on monitoring, issuing warnings and taking action after pollution levels had already risen.
Malaysia already has weather forecasting systems, he said, adding that the country should now develop a user-friendly haze forecasting system that could provide the public with advance information.
Such a system could combine hotspot data, satellite imagery, meteorological information, atmospheric trajectory models, API readings, respiratory disease patterns and fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5).
Azman explained that hotspot data could identify areas where fires were occurring, while satellite images could help track smoke plumes. Meteorological data would provide information on wind direction and speed, while atmospheric trajectory models could estimate where air masses were coming from and where they were likely to move.
If the system forecast rising PM2.5 levels in a particular area within the next 48 to 72 hours, hospitals and clinics could increase their preparedness while schools could reconsider or reschedule outdoor activities, he said.
Azman also pointed to Malaysia’s participation in regional cooperation under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), saying the key issue was not a lack of data but whether available information was being effectively integrated to enable earlier forecasting.
He stressed that the API would remain important as an indicator of current air quality, but an early warning system should complement rather than replace it.
“From a risk management perspective, waiting for the API to rise before taking action means we are responding only after pollutants have entered the air. An early haze warning system does not need to replace the API, but should complement it,” he said.
At the same time, authorities should strengthen enforcement of laws relating to open burning and land fires, while improving surveillance of peatland areas, he added.
ASEAN cooperation should also become more proactive, particularly in mapping fire sources, forecasting smoke trajectories, sharing technology, providing firefighting assistance and developing coordinated response mechanisms rather than focusing mainly on data sharing and reactive measures.
Azman said technology, enforcement and diplomacy alone would not be enough to resolve the haze problem.
“Addressing haze requires a combination of fire prevention, peatland management, atmospheric modelling, regional cooperation and more sustainable land use.
“In the short term, we may not be able to prevent every plume of smoke from entering the country, but we can still reduce fires, forecast smoke movement earlier and, most importantly, protect public health,” he said.
