{News} 080731 Haze shrouds parts of Penang

Haze shrouds parts of Penang

Jul 31, 2008, The Star


GEORGE TOWN: Parts of Penang was temporarily shrouded in haze yesterday with visibility dipping to 1km in Butterworth and 6km in Bayan Lepas at 8am.


A state meteorological department spokesman said the situation only improved in the afternoon with visibility at Butterworth and Bayan Lepas increasing to 7km and 8km respectively at 3pm. The visibility at Prai however dipped from 10km at 8am to 9km at 3pm.


The spokesman said the haze was caused by dust particles trapped in water vapour, adding that Butterworth had always been worst-hit as it was an industrial area and had more suspended particles in the air.


Hazy afternoon: The Penang Bridge seen from the Lebuhraya Bayan Lepas at 1pm Wednesday.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) readings at the three monitoring stations in the state was moderate.


API readings recorded at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Prai and Seberang Jaya were 55, 60 and 79 respectively at 11am, according to the Department of Environment.


The API reading is considered good when it is between 0 and 50, moderate (51 to 100), unhealthy (101 to 200), very unhealthy (201 to 300), and hazardous (above 300).

Source:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/31/nation/21964411&sec=nation

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