Hot, dry spell in Sarawak to persist into next month as haze lingers, water levels fall

For weeks, Sarawak residents have suffered from extreme heat and hazardous haze, with clear skies and clean air becoming increasingly rare. One resident stated, "It's been hard to breathe, and some of my asthmatic friends are struggling with respiratory issues." The prolonged dry spell has raised concerns about water levels, with some reservoirs falling to critical levels and villages in the interior experiencing water shortages.

Sarawak Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah Embas revealed that about 13,000 hotspots had been detected in neighboring Indonesia last month, while over 300 hotspots have been extinguished within Sarawak. However, extinguishing the flames remains challenging due to the vast interior of the state, many of which have no proper roads. Uggah, who chairs the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee, emphasized the difficulty in accessing these remote areas and the need for substantial water supplies to combat the fires.

To mitigate the impact, authorities are considering cloud-seeding operations to generate rainfall and replenish dwindling water reserves. While cloud seeding may offer limited relief, the committee is optimistic that the inter-monsoon period at the end of the month will bring a much-needed change in wind direction, potentially clearing the persistent haze that has plagued Sarawak for weeks.