Visibility in Kuching, state capital of Sarawak, has reduced to 1,000m despite overnight rain following intense forest fires in neighbouring central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The Department of Environment's operations room reported at 3pm that the Air Pollutant Index (API) level in Kuching was 'moderate'.

However, the API level in Sri Aman and Kapit divisions, which are closer to central Kalimantan, was described by the DOE as 'unhealthy'.

In the rest of Sarawak, including Sibu and Miri, the API reading was either good or moderate.

By 3.45pm, most buildings beyond a 1km radius of Kuching's Golden Triangle Area where most of the banks are located, were slowly being shrouded in haze.

Smog to continue until next month

"I think the haze is going to get worse, in spite of the overnight thunderstorm," said a Kuching resident, blaming the raging forest fires across the international border, especially in the southern part of the island of Borneo.

According to newspaper reports, residents in the affected areas in Kalimantan, including Pontianak, have been wearing masks with the thickening smog.

The worst hit was central Kalimantan's university city of Palangkaraya where the API reading was recorded at 1,076 (dangerous).

The reports also said that the present smog could be expected to persist until the middle or end of next month.

Burnings in what has been described as mega-farms or palm oil plantation lands have been largely blamed for the worsening of the smog across much of Borneo.

Stern warnings

Meanwhile, Sarawak's DOE recently said many plantation companies were still continuing with their burning activities despite stern warnings. The companies are taking advantage of the generally dry season to clear land for cultivation.

The DOE also revealed that there are some 140 plantation companies in Sarawak, most of which have been allocated land sizes ranging from 1,000ha to 4,000ha.

Their owners are anxious to cash in on the good prices for palm oil which according to latest reports have reached as high as RM1,600 per tonne.

The DOE has also asked the companies to submit their plans for forest burnings and land-clearing for planting, but most of them have not even bothered to reply.