The government is prepared to propose a state of emergency in areas where the Air Pollutant Index (API) rises above 400, in accordance with the national standard operating procedures for haze management.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said three areas in Sarawak — Kuching, Kota Samarahan and Sri Aman — are currently recording very unhealthy air quality.
He said cloud seeding operations would be prioritised in the three areas should their API readings exceed 400.
“Out of 68 air pollution monitoring stations, only three recorded very unhealthy air levels.
“The three stations recording very unhealthy readings are in Kuching, Kota Samarahan and Sri Aman, while one station in Serian continues to record hazardous readings,” he told reporters here today.
Arthur said cloud seeding operations would also continue in Serian, where a state of emergency has already been declared, in an effort to bring down the haze levels.
He said recent cloud seeding operations in parts of Sarawak and northern Peninsular Malaysia, including Kedah and Perlis, had produced positive results, with rain recorded from yesterday afternoon through early this morning.
Meanwhile, the government has obtained written approval from Indonesia for Malaysian aerial assets to enter its airspace to carry out cloud seeding operations.
Arthur said Malaysia had already conducted cloud seeding in Sarawak and was ready to expand the operation across the border using aerial assets if necessary.
On allegations that Malaysian plantation companies were involved in open burning, Arthur said the Indonesian government would take appropriate action.
