QUICK TAKE: The long dry spell is what native farmers, shifting cultivators in particular, need to turn vegetation in their padi farm plots into tinder before they set them alight.
Every year at this time, Sarawak would be engulfed in thick smoke because of their burning activities.
In recent years, however, the smoke has grown thicker and the air more unhealthy because plantations also resort to burning to clear the land.
While the authorities aren’t really particular about the burning activities of padi farmers, they are continuously monitoring the plantations who are prohibited from clearing land by open burning, to reduce the haze – yes, haze they call it nowadays – and so keep the air quality level healthy.
With modern eye-in-the-sky kind of monitoring, local burning activities can be controlled, but transboundary haze is complicated.
Sarawak has been putting up with haze caused by burning activities in Indonesia’s Kalimantan where most of the hotspots are detected.
“A meeting was held in Jakarta and we have urged Indonesia to take immediate action against the increasing number of hotspots and to intensify efforts to put out the fires,” said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on government-to-government efforts to mitigate the current situation.
Even as he spoke, which was Monday (Aug 24), the Air Pollutant Index (API) in four areas recorded ‘unhealthy’ levels. In Samarahan and Sri Aman, the API was 128, Kuching (119), and Sarikei (102).
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered healthy, 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy), and 301 and above (hazardous).
The general practice is to avoid all outdoor activities when the API crosses the 100 mark.
On Monday, Sibu recorded an API reading of 93, Bintulu (90), ILP Miri (83), Kapit (69), Limbang (51), Miri (75) and Sarikei (89).
According to Public Health Assistant Minister Dr Jerip Susil, the government would check to see if schools needed to be closed if the API hit over 200, saying: “In previous years, when the API hit 250, schools in Sarawak were closed.”
In Limbang on Tuesday, students were gathered at the Limbang Sports Complex field to rehearse for the National Day parade slated for Monday morning (Aug 31).
Reports said they were an enthusiastic lot, but in all probability the students did not realise the risk they were facing in this hot, dry and hazy weather. -Theantdaily.
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