KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Malaysia woke up to hazy skies again this morning, with Sarawak bearing the brunt of the smog.

As of 9am today, seven locations nationwide were in the unhealthy range on the Air Pollutant Index (API), according to data from the Malaysian Air Pollution Index Management System portal.

Serian was the worst hit at 194, just six points away from tipping into very unhealthy.

Kuching followed at 183.

Sri Aman recorded 177.

Samarahan charted 175.

Over in peninsular Malaysia, Johan Setia in Selangor led with 157.

Sungai Petani in Kedah registered 140.

Taiping in Perak logged 121.

API readings of 0 to 50 are categorised as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy, and above 300 as hazardous.

The Department of Environment is monitoring air quality through 68 stations nationwide, with readings updated hourly.

The latest spike comes as the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre flagged clusters of hotspots in West and South Kalimantan and in Sumatra, with moderate to dense smoke plumes observed and prevailing winds blowing from the southeast.

No location has breached the very unhealthy mark as of 9am, but those in affected areas are advised to limit outdoor activities and wear masks when outside.