PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya was among the areas hit hard by the haze as Selangor recorded the highest number of areas with unhealthy air quality readings in Peninsular Malaysia, with five monitoring stations registering Air Pollutant Index (API) readings above 150 as at 6pm yesterday.
According to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) yesterday, Johan Setia recorded the highest reading in that category at 178, followed by Shah Alam (167), Petaling Jaya (159), Banting (161) and Klang (159).
Earlier at 9am, Johan Setia’s reading was higher at 196, while Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya were at 171 and 153, respectively.
By 6pm, unhealthy API readings were also recorded in Putrajaya (168) and several areas in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Pahang, Perak, and Sarawak.
Negri Sembilan recorded unhealthy levels at Nilai (169), Seremban (159) and Port Dickson (153), while in Kuala Lumpur, Batu Muda was at 167, followed by Cheras (162).
In Sarawak, unhealthy readings were in Kuching (172), Samarahan (167), IPD Serian (167), Sibu (161), Bintulu (161), Sarikei (155), Sri Aman (157) and Kapit (153).
Likewise in Perak, Seri Manjung (172), Tasek Ipoh (160), Tanjung Malim (153) and Pegoh Ipoh (111) were in the same category.
In Melaka, Alor Gajah (160), Bukit Rambai (156) and Bandaraya Melaka (136) recorded unhealthy readings, alongside in Pahang’s Temerloh (155) and Jerantut (151).
Meanwhile, 34 other stations recorded moderate API readings of between 51 and 100, while two stations namely, Sandakan in Sabah and Langkawi in Kedah, had good readings of 50 and below.
Based on Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), the dry weather persisted over many parts of southern Asean region yesterday morning except for showers observed in parts of Peninsular Malaysia and northern Sumatra.
“Clusters of scattered hotspots were detected in the southern parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan while isolated hotspots were detected in Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands and Sulawesi,” it said on its website.
“Moderate to dense smoke haze was seen drifting from Kalimantan towards Sarawak, while plumes also originated from hotspots in southern and central Sumatra.”
ASMC also noted yesterday that air quality stations in Sumatra, Sarawak and Kalimantan ranged from unhealthy to hazardous.
The full hotspot and haze situation could not be determined due to cloud cover over parts of the region.
Over the northern Asean region, ASMC noted that wet weather was observed and hotspot counts remained low and no significant smoke plumes were observed.
