PUTRAJAYA, Aug 29 — Air quality in Sri Aman, Sarawak, remained at a very unhealthy level this morning, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) reaching 221 as of 9 am, while 28 other areas nationwide recorded unhealthy readings.

Department of Environment (DOE) Deputy Director-General (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said in a statement today that another 39 areas recorded moderate air quality.

In Sarawak, areas recording unhealthy API readings included Serian (194), Sarikei (190), Kuching (169), Samarahan (168), Mukah (165), Sibu (161), Kapit (154) and Bintulu (150).

In Peninsular Malaysia, unhealthy air quality was recorded in Sungai Petani (161), Langkawi (157) and Alor Setar (155) in Kedah; Minden (160), Seberang Perai (157) and Seberang Jaya (156) in Penang; Cheras (160) and Batu Muda (155) in Kuala Lumpur; and Putrajaya (155).

Other affected areas were Taiping (155), Tanjung Malim (154), Tasek Ipoh (151) and Seri Manjung (110) in Perak; Shah Alam (154), Johan Setia (153) and Petaling Jaya (133) in Selangor; Nilai (152) and Seremban (136) in Negeri Sembilan; Kangar, Perlis (155); and Segamat, Johor (142).

Azuri Azizah said the country’s air quality deteriorated today due to the movement of haze smoke from various directions.

She said that, based on a report issued yesterday by the Singapore-based Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) and satellite imagery from NOAA-20, 1,738 hotspots were detected in Kalimantan and 36 in Sumatra, while six hotspots were detected within Malaysia — one in Sabah and five in Sarawak.

“The Regional Haze Map issued by the ASMC on Aug 28 indicates persistent dry weather conditions across most parts of the southern Asean region, except for parts of Peninsular Malaysia and northern Borneo, which received rainfall.

“Widespread clusters of hotspots were detected in Kalimantan and in the southern and central parts of Sumatra, while scattered hotspots were detected in other parts of the southern Asean region,” she said.

She added that moderate to dense transboundary smoke plumes were detected over West Kalimantan, moving northwards into western Sarawak, while moderate to dense smoke plumes were observed in other parts of Kalimantan, as well as central and southern Sumatra.

“Meanwhile, light to moderate localised smoke plumes were detected in eastern Java.

“Several air quality monitoring stations in West Kalimantan, western Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia, and southern and central Sumatra recorded readings ranging from unhealthy to very unhealthy,” she said. — Bernama