Haze worsens in west coast areas

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of areas in the country with an unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) has risen to 33 as at 7pm today, compared to 31 areas at 2pm.

Areas in Selangor that were severely affected by the haze were Banting (188), Port Klang (181), Petaling Jaya (168), Shah Alam (167) and Kuala Selangor (137).

Adverse haze conditions have also enveloped the capital, with Batu Muda recording an API of 183, Cheras (161) while Putrajaya had a reading of 164.

Other areas affected were the Malacca City (161), Bukit Rambai (182), Nilai (187), Port Dickson (183), Seremban (175), Balok Baru in Kuantan (135), Indera Mahkota (118), Jerantut (125), Jalan Tasek (153), Kampung Air Putih, Taiping (141), SK Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh (167), Seri Manjung (173) and Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani (127).

In Sarawak, three places recorded an unhealthy API, namely Samarahan (104), Sarikei (126) and Sri Aman (136).

According to the Department of Environment (DOE), two new areas which recorded unhealthy air quality were Sibu (106) and Pasir Gudang (103).

In Terengganu, Kemaman and Paka recorded unhealthy readings of 134 and 112 respectively while in Johor, it was at Larkin Lama (105) and Muar (140).

In Penang, the three worst affected areas were Seberang Perai 2 (150), USM (145) and Georgetown (124).

An API of between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (medium), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and 300 and above (hazardous).

Members of the public can refer to MOE's portal at http://apims.doe.gov.my to find out the latest API readings.

Reading at 4pm: Haze: Schools must close once API exceeds 200

Read also: Haze: More areas record unhealthy API readings

Cloud seeding expected over Klang Valley, Sarawak Tuesday