Boredworkers.com

The annual practice of open burning to clear agricultural and development land across the Straits of Melacca have once again made its mark on the shores of Peninsular Malaysia. Inspite of agreements made yesteryear, the Sumatrans of Indonesia are at it again. For the umpteenth year in a row, the skies are once again hazy, laden with smoky pollutants, causing the measure of Air Pollutant Index (API) to make its slow exodus into the red.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE)’s report on yesterday’s (20-07-2006) API, the air quality in various locations across the peninsular are nearing the unhealthy mark (an API above 100). This inspite of scattered showers in the early morning. Incidentally, while there’s a forecast for rain for the coming days, it is only a momentary respite as the country is now into its dry season, with July typically being the driest month of them all. It has gotten to a point where the DOE are contemplating cloud seeding for areas that are most affected by the polluted air.

Over the week, I’ve started to take notice of the bad air quality. The prime indicator of the haze’s return is the sharp bitter smell of wood smoke. The shit hits the proverbial fan when things look blurred and smoky in my own bedroom. There was a power outage the day before around 12 midnight where I stay. As usual, I stepped outside for some fresh air only to be greeted with smog. Inspite of the late hour, the skies were a bright shade of orange with redish hues, a result of the polluted clouds reflecting the city lights. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was an early dawn.

Right now, I’m looking outside my office window and vision is limited. The familiar dark green of the rolling hills beyond the boundaries of Bandar Utama are hidden from sight, replaced by a smudged grey outline. There is no blue sky during my lunch time stroll around Damansara Uptown. The glaring light from the setting sun during the late evenings is also hidden away.

Yes, without a doubt, the haze is definitely back. And what will we do about it this time? Will it be allowed to spiral out of control like last year? Will we be sending our fire rescue teams to help put out the forest fires that rage in Sumatra as a result of careless burning? Will the APIs once again reach the glaring red line, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency? I suppose there is little that we can do about it except to hunker down and wait it out. Here’s to a grand smoky weekend. Don’t let me catch you smoking.