Haze from RI fires spreads to Malaysia

Haze from RI fires spreads to Malaysia

MALAYSIA: A thick haze shrouding Malaysia's tourist island of Penang and caused by fires in neighboring Indonesia has spread to the mainland, meteorological officials said on Monday.

Air quality levels in several towns on mainland Malaysia, across from Penang and extending into northern Perak state, were officially unhealthy, a meteorological official in the Kuala Lumpur bureau told AFP.

An unhealthy reading means the air is likely to irritate eyes or cause sneezing and coughing, and may worsen chronic heart or lung ailments.

Visibility in Prai township was down to three kilometers from a normal 10 kilometers, the department said on its website.

The deterioration in air quality was mainly due to the increase of "hot spots" or burning areas on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the meteorological authority said. -- AFP