TITLE : The Danger Of Haze

Haze is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure
the clarity of the sky. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants
they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility. The particles that
cause the haze phenomenon can originate from many sources, some which are natural sources
and some are contributed by mankinds. Natural sources include forests and ground surface.
However the majority of the particulates are from human activities which include open burning,
forest fires, land clearing and vehicles. In Malaysia, haze is measured and communicated to the
public in terms of Air Pollutant Index (API).
The haze phenomenon has cause health problem to the people. In 2015, the haze that
attacked Malaysia had caused the amount of people to suffer from sore throat, skin irritiation
and redness on the eyes. Based on the report from a local news, people who suffered from
asthma had increased to fifty percent from 300 patients to 600 patients since the month of
August 2015. This occurs because the haze makes the body to become weak . Citizens are
breathing pollutted air and this has lead to respiratory diseases.
The haze pollution has not just affects the health of the inhabitants but detriment the
daily activities in the country. The haze phenomenon that happened in 2015 because of forest
burning in Indonesia worsen the countrys routines. The ministry of health had informed to the
public to reduce their outdoor activities. More than that, some schools in Sabah, Sarawak and
west Malaysia were closed temporarily. This had caused disturbance to the learning and
teaching in schools, even the students who were sitting for their exams had to take under the
contaminated environment. Due to the low visibility, some of the flights were delayed and
canceled. Haze also affects the agricultural sector where fishermen and farmers have to stop in
order to ensure their safety and health.
This increasingly serious problem must be resolved or else it will give negative impacts
to the country in a long run. The haze phenomenon that happens annually in the country has
been seen by the government. So they come up with the solution to cooperate with Indonesia to
decrease and detect the causes of haze. In 1997, the Malaysian government had work together
with the Indonesian authority to slow down the fire that caused the haze. They had launched
the Haze Operation by sending 1200 firemen to put out the fire that burnt with an estimated

area of 4 millions of football fields. Until now, Indonesia is still urged by its neighbouring
countries, especially Malaysia, to enforce the law by arresting any factories that are operating
illegaly.
Since the haze phenomenon is happening perennially in Malaysia, the Department of
Environment (DOE) has also taken actions to reduce the contribution of the haze pollution. One
of the actions that is being carried out is monitoring places. By monitoring every place, those
who carry out open burning and encroachment to forest areas will get caught easily. Besides
that, the usage of technology has ease the work to monitor different places. With the UAV
system, a gadget used to capture images 300 metres above the ground, fires can be prevented
early before it spreads to other places.
As a conclusion, haze has become one of the biggest problem in Malaysia as it brings
lots of difficulties to the country. Since it emerged in 1997, the haze continues to pollutes the air
until today. Therefore, the society must cooperate together to prevent this from happening year
to year. People always tend to forget that their small doings contribute big changes to the
surrounding, so make a change.