Worried citizens of Kuching are bracing for a possible return of the state's worst haze experience of 1998 when visibility was down to less than 50 metres.

The smog haze is so thick that the sun is not visible now.

In the street, visibility is already down to less than 500 metres in most places in and around Kuching. Most people are staying indoor.

The level of outdoor activity has noticeably reduced a lot within the last few days.

But the authorities have so far not issued any statement calling on people to wear masks, although many citizens have done so on their own initiative.

People generally laugh off the API readings issued by the Department of Environment in Kuching.

Temperature is said to be hovering above 35 percent, and one senior citizen described the air as choking. Hospitals and clinics are reportedly treating more haze-related cases.

Online protest

Kuching resident have now resorted to the online Sarawak Talk Forum to post their angry messages.

One posting asked sarcastically: "Can our politicians start some outdoor activity like aerobics to show the rakyat how to keep healthy?"

"Someone must check the calibration of API meters or the brains of the officers doing the readings! Or have they been instructed to show less than 100 for recorded reading?"

Another said: "See with your bare eyes (the presence of smog haze in the skies) and it will tell API reading of 200 and above."

Yet another said: "They must really think we are stupid!"