2016 Malaysian haze

The fires since the mid-March has caused part of Sabah, especially in the West Coast Division to be blanketed by haze.[2]

2016 Sabah forest fires
Forest fires sets by irresponsible farmers in the West Coast Division has been blamed for the increase of hotspots in Sabah, such as this which was taken on 16 March 2016.
Date27 March – 13 April
LocationSabah, Malaysia
CauseFire sets by arsonists
Property damageRM100 million[1]
  • 3,000 hectares of Binsuluk Forest Reserve and almost 10,000 hectares of alienated lands have been destroyed in eight districts
  • Some 660 hectares destroyed in Trusmadi Forest Reserve
Southeast Asian haze series
Haze in Borneo, 2019

1990s

2000s

2010s

Causes

The fires became worse due to the effects of the 2014–16 El Niño event.[3] Natural Resource and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said open burning by farmers are the main cause of the fire and haze.[4][5] Meanwhile, the Beaufort District Officer Mohd Shaid Othman said that the fires were caused by greedy hunters who wanted to search for deer easily. This was supported by Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) findings.[6] The SFD has confirmed that arsonists were behind the forest fires that burn the Trusmadi and Binsuluk Forest Reserves which has blanketed the Sabah West Coast with haze.[7] However, the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) dismissed the claims of the Beaufort District Officer as the areas has poor presence of animals.[8] While Sabah Minister of Tourism Masidi Manjun also blamed greedy hunters as well some irresponsible smokers that like to threw their cigarettes anywhere.[9]

Effects
Forest fires in Kota Kinabalu on 15 March 2016.
Bush fires beside a road in Tambunan in the Interior Division on 23 March 2016.

The forest fires have resulted in the closing of 77 schools in the West Coast Division with effect to health with the increase in respiratory related illness.[2][10][11][12][13] In addition, 3,000 hectares of Binsuluk Forest Reserve and almost 10,000 hectares of alienated lands have been destroyed in eight districts including Keningau, Beaufort and Sook being the most affected. While the fires in the Trusmadi Forest Reserve destroyed some 660 hectares.[9]

Responses

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has directed any relevant authorities to remain vigilant to any emergency situation while reminding the public to stop from doing any open burning that will worsened the situation and limiting their outdoor activities during the haze.[14] Firefighters from Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan branch of Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department have been instructed to combat the fire.[15][16] After seeing the condition, firefighters decided to use aerial firefighting beside fighting it in the ground using nearby water sources.[17] The haze also made the Sabah state government urging the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for cloud seeding as air quality continued to be worsened.[18][19] Replying to the request, The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) begun cloud seeding operation on 7 April using the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft which been departed from Labuan Base.[20] On 9 April, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Madius Tangau said more rain will be expected to come to Sabah and any further cloud seeding are not necessary as a cloud seeding operation had earlier been carried out using the RMAF aircraft but only managed to trigger rain for 30 minutes as there was insufficient towering cumulus.[21][22] As of 12 April, Sabah Meteorological acting director Lim Ze Hui stated that "most areas in Sabah have received rains with the setting in of the inter-monsoon over the weekend".[23]

Aftermath

All schools were reopened on 6 April. The fires was fully recovered on 3 April with firefighters took eight days to put out,[24] while haze fully disappeared on 13 April.[9] After the forest fires, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Madius Tangau has present his solution on the issues to prevent it from recurring in the future as "prevention is much better than to cure".[13] As an appreciation to all firefighters involved in the operation, the Malaysian main private media company, Media Prima has presented a total of RM26,000 aid.[25]

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See also

References
  1. "RM100mil lost to forest fires". Daily Express. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  2. "Haze getting worse in Sabah's west coast". The Straits Times. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. "Hotspots bring about haze to Sabah's western side". The Star. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  4. Olivia Miwil (4 April 2016). "Small fires by farmers causing Sabah's choking haze". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  5. Lavinia Louis (5 April 2016). "Open burning by farmers cause of haze in Sabah, minister says". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. "Greedy hunters behind Binsuluk forest fires?". Daily Express. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  7. John Joseph (5 April 2016). "Arsonists behind raging forest fires in Sabah". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  8. "It is happening: Dept". Daily Express. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  9. John Joseph (13 April 2016). "Blue skies return to KK as rain comes". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  10. Ridzal Abdullah (3 April 2016). "77 schools in Papar, Beaufort, Kuala Penyu to close tomorrow due to unhealthy API". Astro Awani. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  11. "Sabah suffers ill-effects of burning and haze". The Straits Times. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  12. Ruben Sario (9 April 2016). "Rise in respiratory infections in Sabah". The Star. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  13. Madius Tangau (9 April 2016). "Takes more than cloud seeding to fight haze". Daily Express. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  14. "Musa directs relevant authorities in Sabah to be vigilant, prepared following haze". Bernama. The Sun. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  15. Roy Goh (6 April 2016). "Sabah's firefighters prove their mettle despite heatwave". New Straits Times. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  16. "More aerial water bombings at peat swamp fires". The Star. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  17. "Aerial water bombing to put out Sabah peat fire". The Star/Asia News Network. AsiaOne. 2 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  18. Olivia Miwil (4 April 2016). "Make it rain: Sabah urges MOSTI to conduct cloud-seeding". New Straits Times. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  19. "Cloud seeding ordered". The Borneo Post. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  20. "Cloud Seeding operation begins in Sabah, says MetMalaysia". Bernama. The Sun. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  21. "Rain expected in Sabah so no cloud seeding, says minister". Bernama. The Sun. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  22. "WHAT a 30-minute relief". The Borneo Post. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  23. Muguntan Vanar (12 April 2016). "Rains help douse Sabah forest fires". The Star. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  24. Olivia Miwil (5 April 2016). "Schools in Papar, Beaufort & Kuala Penyu to finally reopen following improved air quality". New Straits Times. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  25. Avila Geraldine (11 April 2016). "Media Prima Bhd presents RM26,000 aid to firemen involved in Sabah forest fires". New Straits Times. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
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