KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — The number of areas with unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings has risen to 38 as at 8am today compared to only 18 yesterday.
It includes new areas in Kedah, Perak, Melaka, Pahang, Johor dan Terengganu.
According to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, two new areas in Kedah which recorded unhealthy air quality this morning were Sungai Petani (107) and Kulim Hi-Tech (105).
Five areas with unhealthy air quality in Perak were Taiping (111), Tasek Ipoh (164), Pegoh Ipoh (145), Seri Manjung (132) and Tanjung Malim (132).
Other new areas with unhealthy API readings were ILP Miri, Sarawak (102); Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan (104); Alor Gajah, Melaka (104); Segamat, Johor (129); Seberang Jaya , Pulau Pinang (103); as well as Rompin (114), Temerloh (127), Jerantut (134), Indera Mahkota Kuantan (142), and Balok Baru Kuantan (135) in Pahang.
In Terengganu, the areas were Kemaman (142), Paka (125) and Kuala Terengganu (136).
Meanwhile, the haze situation in Sarawak showed a slight improvement as only four areas recorded unhealthy air quality this morning, namely Miri (107), Sri Aman (183), Kuching (139), and Samarahan (136), compared to eight areas yesterday.
In Kuala Lumpur, the API readings in Cheras and Batu Muda’s API readings remained in the unhealthy category at 153 and 173 respectively, while Putrajaya recorded API reading of (138) followed by Minden (140) and Balik Pulau (151) in Penang.
Other areas with unhealthy API readings were Tangkak, Johor (106); Johan Setia Klang (193), Kuala Selangor (152), Petaling Jaya (148), Shah Alam (143), Klang (131), dan Banting (116) in Selangor and Nilai (140) and Seremban (124) in Negri Sembilan.
An API between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; 51 and 100, moderate; 101 and 200, unhealthy; 201 and 300, very unhealthy and 301 and above, hazardous. — Bernama
