Seventeen areas record unhealthy API readings

KUALA LUMPUR: Seventeen areas in the peninsula and Sarawak recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 11am Sunday.

The affected locations in the peninsula are in Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Johor, according to the Department of Environment's website.

Bukit Rambai recorded the highest API at 166, followed by Bandaraya Melaka (164), Port Dickson (156), Nilai (150) and Banting (147).

Other areas with unhealthy API readings are Seremban (145), Muar (142), Port Klang (137), Putrajaya (136), Shah Alam (134), Petaling Jaya (130), Batu Muda (115), Cheras (112), Samarahan (110), Kuching (109), Pasir Gudang (107) and Sri Aman (103).

Earlier at 8am, 18 areas recorded unhealthy API readings, with Bukit Rambai the highest at 160.

Kuala Selangor, which earlier recorded a reading of 101, moved out of the unhealthy zone, posting a reading of 98.

The other areas with unhealthy API readings as at 8am were Seremban (139), Muar (136), Port Klang (136), Putrajaya (132), Shah Alam (130), Petaling Jaya (127), Batu Muda (115), Cheras (110), Samarahan (109), Kuching (105), Pasir Gudang (105), Sri Aman (103) and Kuala Selangor (101).

Air quality with API readings of 0-50 is categorised as good, 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 301 and above (hazardous).