Sabah Records One Area With Unhealthy API Reading

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Sabah recorded one area with unhealthy air quality, namely Politeknik Kota Kinabalu, as of 5 pm today.

Sabah Department of Environment (DOE) director Nor Rashidah Mohd Ghazali said the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings recorded on the department website at 5 pm showed that one monitoring station recorded an unhealthy reading of 142.

She said the area began recording readings above 100 from noon, while five other areas continued to record moderate air quality readings, namely Kota Kinabalu (97), Kimanis (95), Keningau (93), Tawau (79) and Sandakan (78).

“Based on a report by the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) yesterday (Aug 29), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 20 satellite imagery detected two hotspots in Tuaran and Kota Belud,” she said in a statement here today.

However, she said observations today found no hotspots at the same locations, as the fires had been completely extinguished, while a total of 474 patrols under the open burning prevention operations (OMPT) had been conducted to date.

She also reminded the public not to engage in open burning or allow their land or premises to be accessed or encroached upon by irresponsible parties, resulting in open burning for certain purposes or unintentionally.

Under Section 29(A) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, those convicted of committing open burning offences can be fined between RM25,000 and RM1 million, or face imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.

“The public are urged to cooperate in putting out small fires and report cases of open burning or fires to the Fire and Rescue Department at 999 and the DOE toll-free line at 1-800-882727,” she said.

-- BERNAMA