When Did the Haze in Malaysia Start? Why Does It Feel So Long This Year?

“Doesn’t the haze in Malaysia feel like it’s lasting a long time this year?”

One day, Erik suddenly said this.

When you live in Malaysia, there are days when the sky looks hazy and white, or distant scenery becomes difficult to see clearly.

That’s when you start wondering,

“Is this haze?”

This year in particular, it felt like the haze had been around for quite a long time.

Aya replied,

“I remember the news talking about the haze as early as June.”

J-kun looked surprised.

“What? I thought it started in August!”

To be honest, we had always had the impression that the haze season usually started around August.

So Erik took out his smartphone and said,

“Let me check.”

And that was the start of our little family investigation.

Did the Haze Actually Start as Early as June?

As we looked into it, we found that smoke had already been detected much earlier than we had expected.

According to international observations, smoke had already been detected as early as June 3.

Aya and J-kun leaned over to look at Erik’s smartphone.

“Really? June?”

“It started that early?”

Looking further into the timeline, we found that haze-related news in Malaysia became more prominent around June 15.

After that, there were further developments:

• July 10: ASMC Alert Level 1

• August 3: Alert Level 2

• August 26: Alert Level 3 When you put all these dates together, you realize that the haze situation has been going on for much longer than we initially thought.

“So, Has It Been Hazy This Whole Time?”

Looking at the dates, J-kun asked,

“So… has it been haze all this time?”

Erik quickly replied,

“No, it hasn’t been at the same level the whole time.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean Malaysia experienced the same level of haze every single day from June through September.

Conditions can vary depending on the location, weather, wind direction, and other factors.

Still, when we counted from June 3 to the end of September…

More than 100 days.

Aya checked the dates again and said,

“But if we count from June, it’s already been more than 100 days.”

The three of us looked at each other.

“That’s long!‼️”

Malaysia Has Experienced Long Periods of Haze Before

Malaysia has experienced prolonged periods of haze in the past as well.

For example, in 2014, a prolonged haze episode lasted for approximately 113 days.

This year, haze-related observations and news have continued since June, so when we asked ourselves,

“When did this year’s haze actually start?”

and looked into it, we discovered that it began much earlier than we had expected.

When you live in Malaysia, you can sometimes notice the haze in everyday life — from the colour of the sky to how clearly you can see distant buildings and scenery.

When you find yourself thinking,

“The sky looks a little hazy today…”

it’s a good idea to check the actual air quality conditions in your area.

After looking into it together as a family, one thing became clear to us:

“This year’s haze has lasted much longer than we thought!”

So, how long will the haze continue this year?

If you’re living in Malaysia too, keep an eye on the air quality and take care of yourself while going about your daily life.

🌴 Tabiniko Family Comic Series

📖 Episode 5

“Aya’s Shocking Incident Files in Malaysia ⑤”