Unhealthy Air Quality At Seven Areas In Four States As At 9 Am

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Seven areas in four states recorded Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in the unhealthy category as at 9 am today, with four of them in Sarawak.

According to data on the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, the four areas in Sarawak were Serian IPD, which recorded an API reading of 194, just below the very unhealthy level, followed by Kuching at 183, Sri Aman (177) and Samarahan (175).

The other three areas with unhealthy API readings were Johan Setia in Selangor at 157, Sungai Petani in Kedah (140) and Taiping in Perak (121).

Meanwhile, 61 areas nationwide recorded moderate air quality this morning.

The Department of Environment (DOE) continues to monitor the country's ambient air quality through 68 monitoring stations to detect any significant changes that could affect public health and the environment. API readings are updated hourly.

An API reading of 0 to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy and 300 and above, hazardous.

Meanwhile, DOE deputy director-general (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said 406 hotspots were detected in Kalimantan and another 174 in Sumatra, Indonesia, based on satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yesterday.

She said eight hotspots were also detected in Malaysia, with five in Sarawak and one each in Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu.

The Regional Haze Situation issued by the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) today showed that dry conditions persisted in most parts of the southern ASEAN region, except for isolated showers mainly over the northern parts of Borneo and northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia.

“Clusters of scattered hotspots were detected in parts of Kalimantan while isolated hotspots were detected in the southern and central parts of Sumatra.

“Few hotspots were detected elsewhere in the southern ASEAN region. Moderate smoke haze was observed over the western and southern parts of Borneo,” it said, adding that moderate to dense smoke plumes were also observed in the central and southern parts of Sumatra.

It said several air quality stations in West Kalimantan, the western parts of Sarawak, and the southern and central parts of Sumatra recorded unhealthy to very unhealthy levels.

The full extent of the hotspot and smoke haze situation in the region could not be determined due to cloud cover.

-- BERNAMA