Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Return of haze
Return of haze, hotspots detected in Indonesia
Hazy skies over Bukit Rambai, Malacca on Sunday. Starpix By A MALEX YAHAYA
Bukit Rambai here recorded an unhealthy Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 105 at noon Sunday signalling a possible return to hazy conditions.
According to the Department of Environment (DoE) website, the API reading at 8am was 102.
However, the API reading were 103 and 105 at 10am and 11am respectively.
Melaka City registered moderate API readings of 77 at 8am, 78 (9am), 79 (10am), 79 (11am) and 80 at 12 noon.
API readings between 0 to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and above 300 hazardous.
The number of hotspots in Sumatra has spiked sharply from zero to 159 in a mere four days, causing the haze to return to Peninsular Malaysia.
After weeks of clear skies, unhealthy air quality has been recorded in Bukit Rambai, Malacca, where residents and tourists have already taken to donning masks on their faces.
In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) says Singapore may experience hazy conditions in the coming days.
Over the next two days, dry weather conditions were expected to persist in most parts of Sumatra.
"Should there be a change in the wind direction from the west, Singapore may experience hazy conditions," the agency said.
The NEA will provide further haze alerts to the public if these events become more likely.
It said the number of hotspots in Sumatra as tracked by the NOAA 18 satellite had gone up sharply in the last two days to reach 159 on Saturday.
"Of these hotspots, 63 are detected in the Riau province in central Sumatra, which is about 280 km from Singapore.
"Some localised smoke plumes are observed to emanate from the hotspots.
"The other hotspots on the island are primarily further north, in Acheh and North Sumatra.
"As the winds are currently from the southeast or south, the smoke haze is not being blown towards Singapore at this time," the NEA said.
It also noted that some states in Peninsular Malaysia have been experiencing a deterioration in their air quality since Saturday afternoon, with the highest Air Pollutant Index reading at 5am Sunday being 98 in Bukit Rambai, Malacca.
As at noon in Singapore, the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was at 20, while the 24-hour PSI was between 19 and 33.
~News courtesy of Bernama~
Hazy skies over Bukit Rambai, Malacca on Sunday. Starpix By A MALEX YAHAYA
Bukit Rambai here recorded an unhealthy Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 105 at noon Sunday signalling a possible return to hazy conditions.
According to the Department of Environment (DoE) website, the API reading at 8am was 102.
However, the API reading were 103 and 105 at 10am and 11am respectively.
Melaka City registered moderate API readings of 77 at 8am, 78 (9am), 79 (10am), 79 (11am) and 80 at 12 noon.
API readings between 0 to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and above 300 hazardous.
The number of hotspots in Sumatra has spiked sharply from zero to 159 in a mere four days, causing the haze to return to Peninsular Malaysia.
After weeks of clear skies, unhealthy air quality has been recorded in Bukit Rambai, Malacca, where residents and tourists have already taken to donning masks on their faces.
In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) says Singapore may experience hazy conditions in the coming days.
Over the next two days, dry weather conditions were expected to persist in most parts of Sumatra.
"Should there be a change in the wind direction from the west, Singapore may experience hazy conditions," the agency said.
The NEA will provide further haze alerts to the public if these events become more likely.
It said the number of hotspots in Sumatra as tracked by the NOAA 18 satellite had gone up sharply in the last two days to reach 159 on Saturday.
"Of these hotspots, 63 are detected in the Riau province in central Sumatra, which is about 280 km from Singapore.
"Some localised smoke plumes are observed to emanate from the hotspots.
"The other hotspots on the island are primarily further north, in Acheh and North Sumatra.
"As the winds are currently from the southeast or south, the smoke haze is not being blown towards Singapore at this time," the NEA said.
It also noted that some states in Peninsular Malaysia have been experiencing a deterioration in their air quality since Saturday afternoon, with the highest Air Pollutant Index reading at 5am Sunday being 98 in Bukit Rambai, Malacca.
As at noon in Singapore, the three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was at 20, while the 24-hour PSI was between 19 and 33.
~News courtesy of Bernama~
Monday, July 15, 2013
Malacca Zoo welcomes baby Banteng
Malacca Zoo welcomes baby Banteng
Cute creatures: Serows resting in their enclosure at the Malacca Zoo. Besides a baby Serow, a baby Banteng (inset left) is one of the latest additions to the menagerie and Aprilina the baby orang utan (inset right) appears to be in good health.
A male baby Banteng (bos javanicus) has become the latest and cutest addition to the Malacca Zoo.
The baby Banteng, born on July 10, is yet to be named and among the names being considered by the zoo’s management is Rama or Raman.
The Banteng, species under the bovidae family, is currently classified as “threatened” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List with an estimated total world population as less than 10,000 animals.
Three months ago, the buzz was over Aprilina, a female orang utan born in the zoo, which was privatised on Jan 1.
Since then, the zoo has registered the births of a female Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), a species of mountain goat under the IUCM status of “vulnerable” and a baby Malayan porcupine (hystrix brachyura).
Zoo representative Catherine Yang said the team was still excited by Aprilina.
“As Aprilina is the star in our zoo, special attention is given to her although she still clings to her mother, Tina, ” she said.
Yang said the baby primate’s arrival was a nice surprise as it was a captive birth.
“We were hopeful of such a birth and it happened a few months after the privatisation,” she said
Yang said the baby Banteng’s birth was also considered auspicious as it was born on the first day of the Muslim holy month, adding that the baby Serow had been named Blackie.
Malacca Zoo’s veterinarian Dr Reza Ismail said the mother and baby orang utan were being monitored closely and so far they appeared to be in good health.
Dr Reza said Tina had taken an active role in its care, which is common among primates.
“Tina plays an important role as mother while we constantly monitor the progress of Aprilina,” he said.
Tina was very protective of the newborn and shielded her baby from the photographer when The Star attempted to take pictures.
She made faces and wagged her tongue at the camera lens.
Zoo staff members eventually took both Tina and Aprilina to the show area, where photographs were taken discreetly.
~News courtesy of The Star~
Cute creatures: Serows resting in their enclosure at the Malacca Zoo. Besides a baby Serow, a baby Banteng (inset left) is one of the latest additions to the menagerie and Aprilina the baby orang utan (inset right) appears to be in good health.
A male baby Banteng (bos javanicus) has become the latest and cutest addition to the Malacca Zoo.
The baby Banteng, born on July 10, is yet to be named and among the names being considered by the zoo’s management is Rama or Raman.
The Banteng, species under the bovidae family, is currently classified as “threatened” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List with an estimated total world population as less than 10,000 animals.
Three months ago, the buzz was over Aprilina, a female orang utan born in the zoo, which was privatised on Jan 1.
Since then, the zoo has registered the births of a female Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), a species of mountain goat under the IUCM status of “vulnerable” and a baby Malayan porcupine (hystrix brachyura).
Zoo representative Catherine Yang said the team was still excited by Aprilina.
“As Aprilina is the star in our zoo, special attention is given to her although she still clings to her mother, Tina, ” she said.
Yang said the baby primate’s arrival was a nice surprise as it was a captive birth.
“We were hopeful of such a birth and it happened a few months after the privatisation,” she said
Yang said the baby Banteng’s birth was also considered auspicious as it was born on the first day of the Muslim holy month, adding that the baby Serow had been named Blackie.
Malacca Zoo’s veterinarian Dr Reza Ismail said the mother and baby orang utan were being monitored closely and so far they appeared to be in good health.
Dr Reza said Tina had taken an active role in its care, which is common among primates.
“Tina plays an important role as mother while we constantly monitor the progress of Aprilina,” he said.
Tina was very protective of the newborn and shielded her baby from the photographer when The Star attempted to take pictures.
She made faces and wagged her tongue at the camera lens.
Zoo staff members eventually took both Tina and Aprilina to the show area, where photographs were taken discreetly.
~News courtesy of The Star~
Monday, July 8, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)