Haze worsens in Penang

Source
GEORGE TOWN: Penangites will have to brace themselves for thicker haze as there will be no rain for the next three days, according to the meteorological department.

The haze which is enveloping the state has worsened over the last couple of days with visibility dropping to 4km.

Visibility in Bayan Lepas was 4km at 10am while in Prai and Butterworth, it was 5km.

It remained the same at 1pm except for Butterworth where it improved to 6km.

Visibility on Wednesday was better at 7km in Butterworth, 6km in Bayan Lepas and 8km in Prai and on Tuesday, visibility was more than 10km.

The air pollutant index (API) at all three places was moderate at 71 for Seberang Jaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia (53) and Prai (59) at 5pm.

A total of 23 areas nationwide recorded good API between 0-50 while 27 areas had moderate API between 51 and 100. The unhealthy API is between 101-200.

A spokesperson of the Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd said traffic on the bridge was not affected although it was slow moving.

Penang International Airport airport manager Abdul Wahab Mohd Yusof also said that the haze condition had not affected airport operations.