Haze To Persist For Days: Met Office
By Azlan Othman & Rosh Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - Thick haze has blanketed the sultanate over the past few days, restricting visibility to less than 3 kilometres as recorded by the Weather Centre, Department of Civil Aviation in Berakas.

The haze has also forced drivers to be more cautious on the roads in order to minimise the risk of traffic accidents. Moderate to thick haze is expected to persist in Brunei and there will be no improvement but a possibility of morning showers over Brunei bay region today, the Meteorological Office said yesterday.

The lowest visibility of 2.6km was recorded in Brunei-Muara District in the last 24 hours. However, no reading was available from Belait Meteorological Station.

The Meteorological Office also said that severe tropical storm "Xangsane" over central Philippines is maintaining the low level south to southwesterly wind flows which keep transporting smoke particulates from Kalimantan to Northwest Borneo.

The haze situation is unlikely to improve for the rest of the month, the office stated.

Meanwhile' the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation said yesterday that at 5pm, the PSI reading of 60 was recorded which was moderate. "It was 57 (moderate) at 2pm yesterday," the department stated. A PSI reading below 50 is considered good and 50-100, moderate. Any reading above 100 is considered unhealthy.

The department also said that the Asean Meterological Centre has reported that the number of hotspots observed in Borneo rose from 342 on September 23 to 388 on September 26. The department recorded 293 hotspots on Sept 24 and 302 on Sept 25. These hotspots were located in the central and western parts of Kalimantan, mostly in abandoned ex-plantation areas and peatlands.

With the prevailing southwesterly winds, the smoke from these fires has caused Brunei to experience hazy conditions.

The department said it's closely monitoring the situation and the public will be kept informed of the air quality situation on a daily basis. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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