The air\npollution crisis in the country as a result of haze brought from neighbouring\ncountry, Indonesia for over a decade seems to have no solution. The question of\nhow long this issue will end is quite difficult to determine. This is because\nthe haze phenomenon seems to be routine to the country almost every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to chronology the worst\nhaze in Malaysia first took place during September to November 1997. It was caused coincidently with the El-Nino phenomenon,\nwhich worsened at several places in Sarawak until a Haze Emergency had to be\ndeclared when the Air Pollution Index (API) reached above the 500 level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, the worst haze episode happened in August 2005. It was considered\nmore severe to the previous one in 1997 as the whole part of Klang Valley and\nits surrounding areas were badly affected by smoke haze. A Haze Emergency was\nalso declared during that time in two areas, namely Port Klang and Kuala\nSelangor as the API in both area exceeded 500. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, a short period of haze episode was experienced in Muar, Johor on\nOctober 2010 where the air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous level due to\ntransboundary haze pollution which registered the highest API of 432. Due to the\ndeterioration of air quality, all schools (170 schools) in Muar District were closed\non October 21, 2010. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After that, Malaysia had experienced a short period of severe haze in June\n2013 due to burning areas in Riau Region, Central Sumatera, Indonesia. The most\naffected areas were three states in Peninsular Malaysia namely Johor, Malacca\nand Negeri Sembilan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The worst haze was in August to September 2015 due to massive land and forest\nfires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia. It caused 34 areas in the country to\nrecord unhealthy air quality status when the API reading reached 200. All\nschools in the states of Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and\nMalacca were closed, schools in Kuching and Samarahan were closed earlier. The\nhighest API reading was 211 in Banting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These chronologies are not the last episode of haze attack in Malaysia. The\ncountry is again hit by haze which affected some areas around West Coast of Peninsular\nMalaysia and Sarawak due to forest fires in Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is feared the haze phenomenon is considered as normal rather than a\nharmful environmental problem. Awareness of haze and its effects on the\nenvironment and health must be disseminated to the public so that they know how\nto deal with this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back on the episodes of haze in Malaysia, some of the\nsignificant effects are on social and economic activities experienced by all\nages. Adults find it is difficult to carry out their daily activities such as going\nto work. For children and adolescents, schools are forced to close due to the\nconstant haze and extremely critical air quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The haze also affects the economic resources of the tourism sector. This\nis due to the reduction in the number of tourists which can then have a\nnegative impact on the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, the haze phenomenon also have a significant impact to health\nespecially on children and elderly. The toxic gases contained in the haze can\ncause a variety of health problems such as runny nose, cough, inflamed eyes,\nsore throat and difficulty in breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The elderly and children (especially under the age of five), asthma and\npneumonia patients are at high risk for developing health problems due to haze.\nFarmers and labourers who have to work in open conditions are also at high risk\nfor haze-related illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haze also affects the agricultural sector, as it will disturb the\nphotosynthesis process. This is due to the insoluble aerosols attached to the\nleaves, and it can result in lower photosynthesis with lower yields, lower\ncarbon dioxide reduction and increased greenhouse effect. As a result, plants\nwill have problems in the fertilization process resulting in decreasing of\nfruit production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is found that human actions contribute as the main factor to the haze\nproblem. They don\u2019t consider the long-term effects on the environment and\nuniversal health. Although various efforts have been made by the government to\naddress the problem of haze, it has yet to find a stop point. The tendency to\nforget and harp on the environment for the sake of own profit has caused great\nharm to the nation and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, continuous awareness is very important in maintaining the\nharmony of the global environment. In addressing the issue of haze, integration\nof knowledge and understanding of natural phenomenon is very important. It\nneeds to be viewed in a more holistic context, so that it can be appreciated\nand well understood by all, teaching them not to harm the earth as the impact\nof their actions will return to themselves. This is in line with the words of\nAllah SWT which means: \u201cCorruption has\nappeared throughout the land and sea by (reason of) what the hands of people\nhave earned so He may let them taste part of (the consequence of) what they\nhave done that perhaps they will return (to righteousness)\u201d<\/em> (Surat Ar-Rum,\n30: 41).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The air pollution crisis in the country as a result of haze brought from neighbouring country, Indonesia for over a decade seems to have no solution. The question of how long this issue will end is quite difficult to determine. This is because the haze phenomenon seems to be routine to the country almost every year. According to chronology the worst haze in Malaysia first took place during September to November 1997. It was caused coincidently with the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-straits-times","category-139","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}