Kuching has the 3rd worst air pollution in the world today. Here’s why

Those of y’all who have gone outside at any point during the last week might’ve noticed that something’s off – that’s right, the yearly haze™ is back, and multiple states are being affected, namely, Penang, Selangor, and most devastatingly…

 

Kuching’s air pollution is ranked 3rd highest in the world right now

As of the time of writing (11 September 2023), Kuching is ranked 3rd out of 109 cities on IQAir’s global air pollution chart, with its air quality index (AQI) measuring at 136. An AQI of 136 might not mean much to you without context, so, here:

Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. – Air Quality Index scale as defined by the US-EPA 2016 standard

Last week, the AQI in Kuching was recorded to be as high as 154 which would’ve made the city the most aerially polluted in the world… but how? How did this happen? Well…

 

Indonesia has a forest fire issue, and it’s because of El Nino

From our research, there was no clear cause cited for the forest fires that have been raging across Indonesia since July – the only commonality across the board is El Nino. This weather phenomenon causes extreme heat and dryness in the Southeast Asian region which in turn creates the perfect environment for wildfires.

Now, whether these wildfires were caused by nature (lightning strikes, et cetera), or people (a campfire someone forgot to put out, farmers clearing their land, et cetera) we’re not really sure of, but it has been reported that there were wildfires on Indonesian farmland and forests, so… the causes were probably a mixture of both.

In any case, if your area is hazy, try not to spend too much time outside, or you’ll get smoked by the smoke. Sekian.