Malaysia lifted a state of emergency in two areas near the capital on Saturday after air pollution levels fell well below the danger mark, easing the country's worst pollution crisis in eight years.
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia lifted a state of emergency in two areas near the capital on Saturday after air pollution levels fell well below the danger mark, easing the country's worst pollution crisis in eight years.
Changing winds have helped to disperse smog that has shrouded central Malaysia for a week, dispersing smoke blown in from forest fires in Indonesia to northern regions, officials said.
The sky over Kuala Lumpur was clear for the first time in days and the weather bureau predicted weekend rains to further wash away the haze that has threatened public health.
"We thank God, and this is through the effort of everybody regardless of religion," Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi told reporters during a visit to a pollution monitoring centre near the capital.
Badawi had urged citizens of all faiths to beg for divine intervention to banish the haze that had grounded some flights, disrupted shipping, and forced the closure of hundreds of schools.
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The National Security Council said pollution readings were well below the 500-level mark which had triggered the emergency in Kuala Selangor and Port Klang, the country's biggest port, following choking smoke from forest fires in Indonesia.
Only 12 places in the country registered a reading classed in the category of "unhealthy" and most of them were in the northern states of Penang and Perak, it said.
A reading of 101-200 on the Air Pollutant Index (API) is classed as "unhealthy", 201-300 "very unhealthy" and 300 and above "hazardous".
The latest reading put Kuala Lumpur at 103, Port Klang at 105 and Kuala Selangor at 117, it said.
The haze moved toward northern Malaysia, but levels were not as bad as they were earlier in the week.
Visibility at an airport in Penang, a major tourist spot and a hub for electronics firms, dropped to 500 m (540 yards) early on Saturday, but recovered to about 1 km (0.6 mile) by afternoon.
The airport would be shut if visibility fell below 300 m (330 yards), an airport official said. Most of Penang's electronics exports go by air to the United States, Japan and Taiwan.
CLOUD-SEEDING
State news agency Bernama said the haze in northern Malaysia was aggravated by rice farmers burning vegetation in preparation for the sowing season.
Environment Minister Adenan Satem was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper that Indonesia had sought Malaysia's help in cloud-seeding operations to douse the fires burning on the island of Sumatra, a short ferry ride from the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.
Abdullah said no Malaysian companies were involved in the fires on Sumatra, contrary to earlier reports that some Malaysian plantation firms with operations in Indonesia might have had a role.
As many as seven people may have died of haze-related illness such as breathing difficulties, the New Straits Times said, although Malaysia's top health official, Ismail Merican, told the paper it was too early to blame the deaths on the haze.
Source: Reuters
