Haze worsens in Kuala Lumpur

Haze worsens in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Air pollution in Kuala Lumpur worsened yesterday as inter-monsoon winds changed direction and blew smoke from Indonesia's forest fires, officials said.

"Strong southeasterly winds from Sumatra island is blowing the haze to the central and southern part of peninsula Malaysia," a spokesman of the meteorological department told AFP.

The wind pattern was however, expected to revert back to northeasterly directions today, blowing clean air from the South China Sea to help clear the hazy sky.

But officials had warned the haze would remain until the monsoon period in November.

The Air Pollutant Index in Kuala Lumpur climbed to the "unhealthy" level of 150 points early yesterday from 76 points a day. A level from 101-200 is considered unhealthy.