However, Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the operations will only be successful if there is enough presence of clouds.
“I have instructed the department to activate the seeding process once there are enough clouds by having the National Disaster Management Agency inform the defence ministry to carry out the operations.
“I know the situation is bad, especially in the north of Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.
“We are ready to clear the haze but that depends on the presence of cumulus clouds.
“Hopefully, we will be able to do that the soonest possible,” she said after checking on an open burning site at Johan Setia here today.
Present were the Department of Environment (DoE) director-general Ahmad Kamarulnajuib Che Ibrahim, Selangor DoE director Siti Zaleha Ibrahim, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Azmi Osman and Sungai Kandis assemblyman Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni.
Yeo said the current haze situation was due to open burning in Sumatera and Kalimantan, Indonesia, as well as in the Johan Setia area.
“As such, I urge school administrations, childcare centre operators and individuals who wish to conduct outdoor activities to observe the Air Pollution Index (API) at apims.doe.gov.my.
“If the API reading is more than 100, it is considered as unhealthy. As such, do not engage in outdoor activities,” she said.
On the open burning issue in Johan Setia, Yeo said the cloud seeding operation planned for yesterday had to be called off due to insufficient cloud cover and dry weather.
She said she had also instructed local authorities in Selangor to supply 10 water tanks today to assist in firefighting operations in the area.
In Penang, the air quality in Seberang Jaya and Perai in Penang recorded unhealthy API readings of 120 and 109 respectively at 3pm. Moderate API readings were recorded in two areas, namely Minden (96) and Balik Pulau (93).
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said drones were being deployed to monitor open burning activities in hotspot areas nationwide in the wake of the haze in several states. Previously, the department had to use helicopters to do this.
He said the department had identified several open burning areas nationwide, including in Sepang, Batu Arang and Batang Berjuntai in Selangor and Bukit Bendera in Penang.