PETALING JAYA: A total of 12 areas in Malaysia recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 2pm Monday (Aug 24), according to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS).
In Sarawak, six areas breached the unhealthy threshold, with IPD Serian recording the highest reading nationwide at 193, followed by Kuching (179), Samarahan (174), Sri Aman (156), Bintulu (151) and Mukah (114).
Outside Sarawak, there were two areas in Selangor with unhealthy API readings - Johan Setia (160) and Kuala Selangor (107).
In Kedah, Sungai Petani (155) and Alor Setar (152) recorded unhealthy API levels while in Penang, Minden recorded an API of 115.
Seri Manjung is the latest area found to have an unhealthy API reading at 106.
Meanwhile, 56 areas around the country recorded API readings at the moderate level, while no areas recorded good readings.
API readings of between zero and 50 indicate good air quality, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, while readings above 300 are categorised as hazardous.
API data is released hourly based on readings from 68 air quality monitoring stations nationwide.
