Air quality gets clearer as haze lifts

KUALA LUMPUR: The air quality in the country has generally improved with only one area – Nilai – still showing an unhealthy reading.

As at 5pm yesterday, Nilai recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 138.

At 9am, two areas recorded unhealthy API levels – Nilai at 151 and Bukit Rembai in Melaka at 112.

Other areas were either in the moderate or good air quality range.

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

The API data is issued hourly based on 68 air quality monitoring stations located throughout the country.

According to the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre, the number of hotspots in Kalimantan has been reduced from 315 on Oct 2 to 120 on Oct 5.

Similarly, the number of hotspots in Sumatra has gone down from 121 on Oct 1 to 65 on Oct 5.

There were nine hotspots in Sabah and Sarawak on Oct 4 and only one on Oct 5.

No hotspots were detected in Peninsular Malaysia.