Jul 02, 2007
New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - More hotspots were detected in the peninsula yesterday but the number remained relatively low compared to those in neighbouring Sumatra.

Five hotspots were detected in the peninsula compared with 171 in Sumatra. Two each were in Perak and south-west Selangor and one in Kelantan.

The hotspots were picked up from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) NOAA-18 satellite images at 3pm yesterday.

A Meteorological Services Department spokesman said there was no cause for alarm as the Department of Environment’s Air Pollution Index (API) readings at 5pm yesterday were below 100.

Of the 51 monitoring sites nationwide, 38 recorded "moderate". Seberang Jaya recorded the highest readings of 74 followed by Sungai Petani and Port Klang at 68.

Perai, Butterworth, Sitiawan and Subang recorded visibility of between 8km and 9km, with the rest of the peninsula at over 10km.

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