Some facts about Haze

A is for Air Pollutant Index. This index measures the major pollutants in the air. A reading of more than 100 will cause health problems.

B is for brisk. Shops have been reporting brisk sales of masks and air purifiers.

C is for carbon monoxide. This is what Malaysians have been breathing in abundance for the last few days.

D is for dire straits. This is what is going to happen if the dry spell continues. Not only will water rationing become a reality but the suffocating pall of smoke will stay with us until October.

E is for enlightened. That word describes the Cabinet decision to make public the API readings. This is the first time the Government has released the API in six years. It had stopped revealing the index in 1999, saying such statistics scare away tourists.

F is for forest fires. Raging fires in Sumatra and Riau are the main source of the haze here. The bad news is that the fires in Riau are expected to get worse as thousands of hectares of forest land is cleared through burning to make way for oil palm plantations.

G is for gamble. The authorities will gamble on cloud-seeding if there is no rainfall in the next few days.

H is for health. Exposure to haze increases the possibility of eye irritation, sore throat, breathing difficulty and upper respiratory tract infection. API levels above 400 may be life-threatening to ill and elderly people. Clinics are reporting a 150 per cent increase in asthma attacks.

I is for ignorance. It is unbelievable that Malaysia is not better prepared to combat peat fires. The fact is that many of the country’s peat swamps have been drained for housing, oil palm plantation and logging. The result is that peat soil becomes bone-dry and combustible.

J is for jeopardy. Fun-filled week of school holidays for many Malaysian schoolchildren are in jeopardy if the dry spell continues. Forget about spending hours under the sun chasing the football. Time to learn to play chess.

K is for Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airport will remain open unless visibility drops to 300 metres.

L is for lucky. That is how to describe the people of Johor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Perlis. They have been spared that muggy feeling because the South-Westerly wind — which is sending the haze here from Indonesia — passed them.

M is for meet. Environment Minister Datuk Adenan Satem and Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui have been directed by the Cabinet to meet their Indonesian counterparts in Jakarta as soon as possible. They want to draw up a plan to resolve the haze problem in the immediate and long term.

N is for nightmare. That is what the haze season is for tourism, outdoor food outlets and sporting activities.

O is for open burning. All forms of open burning have been banned in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Perak. Those found guilty face a RM500,000 fine, jail term or both.

P is for postponement. For the first time in 45 years, the Malay Mail Big Walk will be postponed. The event was scheduled to be held this weekend at Dataran Merdeka.

Q is for quiet. That sums up the Indonesian response to the haze situation. There has been precious little information from Jakarta on the extent of the problem or whether any help is needed to put out the raging fires.

R is for respite. Form Three students will get a respite from their trial examinations.

S is for schools. Once the API level breaches the 400 mark, all schools will be closed. For the moment, though, the discretion to send students home lies with principals.

T is for tips.Malaysians should drink more water, cut down outdoor activities, wear protective masks and refrain from smoking. Those who are ill or elderly should stay indoors.

U is for is for unhealthy. Seven areas which recorded unhealthy levels of air quality yesterday were Gombak (200),Tanjung Malim (205), Kuala Lumpur (276), Nilai (174), Country Heights Kajang (185), Seremban (137) and Jerantut, Pahang (131).

V is for visibility. In several areas in the Klang Valley, visibility was down to less than one kilometre. In Petaling Jaya, people could only see for up to 300 metres .

W is for why. Why is Indonesia — the main source of haze in the region — not a signatory to the Asean Transboundary Haze Agreement? This agreement makes it compulsory for countries to respond promptly to a request for information on haze or other forms of pollution.

X is for x-ray. There will be a steady stream of Malaysians heading to hospitals this week to get x-rays done on their upper respiratory tract. Clinics and hospitals have reported an increase of between five and 13 per cent in the number of patients suffering from lung infection.

Y is for Yes. Yes to more vigilance around peat forests here. Yes to increased enforcement. Yes to car-pooling and using public transport. Yes to more days of blue skies and fresh air.

Z is for zero. That is the number of hours police outriders on the Prime Minister’s detail worked yesterday. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi gave them a day off, concerned that they would have to inhale all the smog.