Air quality in Johor at unhealthy levels

Several families enjoying a dip by the sea at Stulang in Johor Baru despite the haze on Sept 24, 2015.

JOHOR BARU: The haze in Johor hit "very unhealthy" levels with air pollution index (API) readings of 201 in Pasir Gudang, with other areas in the state still showing "unhealthy" levels Friday

The Department of Environment (DOE) recorded API readings that shot up to very unhealthy levels in Pasir Gudang from 196 as of 8am to 201 as of 9am on Friday (Sept 25).

The Kota Tinggi and Larkin Lama areas remained at unhealthy levels of 135 and 187 as of 9am.

The haze in Muar, however, has drastically reduced in the past week with an average API reading of 71 as of 9am.

Kuantan also had "unhealthy" readings, Balok Baru had an API reading of 156 and Indera Mahkota at 134.

Kemaman and Paka in Terengganu also recorded "unhealthy" readings of 143 and 106 respectively.

The API readings in the Klang Valley was "moderate" at 8am.

Putrajaya read 72, Cheras was at 53, Petaling Jaya was at 64, Kuala Selangor at 52, Shah Alam at 68.

Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and parts Perak also had "moderate" readings.

Penang and Kedah had the best API readings, staying below 50 at the "good" level.

Most of Sarawak had "moderate" readings, while most of Sabah had "good" readings except for Tawau that had a "moderate" API reading of 51.

The API reading from 201 to 300 is considered "very unhealthy", 101 to 200 is considered "unhealthy", 51 to 100 is considered "moderate", while 0 to 50 is considered "good".

The API is calculated based on five major air pollutants, namely Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ground Level Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a diameter below 10 micrometers (PM10).

In Singapore, all primary and secondary schools were forced to close on Friday, with conditions reaching hazardous levels.