Sarawak haze: cloud seeding planned as air index hits 475

Malaysia's Sarawak state plans cloud seeding from September 3 to 5 if conditions allow, after haze pushed air quality to hazardous levels and the Air Pollutant Index reached 475 in Serian district, state officials said on August 31.

Sarawak Disaster Management Committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas said the operation depends on suitable cloud formations and atmospheric conditions. He said cloud seeding cannot create rain without suitable clouds.

Seven locations in Sarawak recorded Air Pollutant Index readings above 300, which national guidelines classify as hazardous. Levels above 500 trigger consideration of a local emergency, and Uggah said any such declaration would apply only to a specific locality, not the whole state.

Sarawak, on Borneo island, borders Indonesia's Kalimantan region. Smoke from fires in Indonesia has drifted into Malaysia and Singapore after weeks of wildfires in Indonesia that have led to school closures and thousands of people needing medical treatment.

State satellite monitoring detected nine active hotspots in Sarawak, compared with 1,180 in Kalimantan. Kalimantan recorded 15,587 hotspots between January and late August, including more than 13,000 in August alone.

Uggah said Sarawak authorities had urged Malaysia's federal government to raise the haze issue with Jakarta under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Authorities have deployed firefighters to hotspots in Sarawak and advised residents to limit outdoor activity and wear N95 masks.

Officials said the cloud seeding would also aim to replenish reservoirs and dams after a prolonged dry spell.