Tuesday, August 9

Smog-o-sphere

I just walked to the washroom. Oh that was the worst trip ever! Our faculty building is just engulfed in smoke. Please don’t tell me that the haze is getting worse? I heard that there’s yet another burning at Cyberpark, but this cannot be confirmed. Great. Just great. Why do we have to have these irresponsible pyromaniacs as neighbours? The whole uni is in this hazy atmosphere. It’s making my eyes water. I can’t breather out there. Ack! And it’s lunch time!

4 comments:

Fashionasia said...

ya....the haze is serious this time. VERY.

xig said...

Seems like the entire country is flaming and in smoke. The whole Peninsula should be designated a public health disaster area. Here I am somewhere in rural Selangor and I'm breathing in soot *choke* *gasp* *cough* The haze took a drastic turn for the worse about an hour ago. It just seemed like darkness just descended suddenly even though it is now only 5.45 p.m. I see cars on the road with their headlights on, indicating how bad visibilty is. In fact, from my estimate, visibility can't be more than 100 metres now. I heard there is a HUGE palm oil estate fire in Kuala Selangor. Called the NST news editor to inform him about the situation. Hope he sends someone to check out the scene and report. And on this day when the DOE has banned any form or degree of open burning ... sigh.
If the current situation persists, I'd expect the health authorities to advise schools to shut until the haze (literally) blows over, at least until it reaches the "not dangerous to health" level. As it stands, I reckon it is now at "lethal" level.
If all this is caused by pyromaniacs, then they should be buried alive in burnt peat soil. At the risk of being called a sadist, I'd revel in them dying a slow death suffocating in the smog that they produced to choke the rest of us.
On the other hand, I am quite perturbed by the offhand way the authorities seem to brush off the haze as being caused by "open fire burning in Sumatra", as if that would deflect the M'sian public's attention to our OWN misdeeds in our OWN country. We know that there are peat fires burning in Cyberjaya area and the fire in the peat of Batang Berjuntai has been smouldering since the beginning of the year WITHOUT it being put off completely.
As I'm typing this (6 p.m.), there is a darker pall in the air. I'm afraid to even breathe. I can feel the microscopic soot and ash in my lungs ... and I am in this air-conditioned room. I'm sparing a thought for the kampung folks who have no such luxury. Hope they wake up alive tomorrow morning.
Anyone got a surgical mask?

xig said...

PS/- Sorry muddy, if the above took up your space. I got carried away.

mudslinger said...

fashionasia - very serious. and what do we do? come to work still. *cough*

xig - no worries. i understand your concern. and when i said pyromaniacs, i really meant these people here in cyberjaya, clogging up my air with their doings. when i came to work this morning, i couldn't even see the university! hope it rains or something....