PETALING JAYA: Haze conditions worsened nationwide as of 11am on Tuesday (Oct 6), with 23 areas recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, up from 21 as of 8am, according to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS).
Johor was the worst hit, with all eight of its areas in the unhealthy range and Batu Pahat recording the highest reading nationwide at 193.
The others were Segamat (170), Kluang (170), Larkin (166), Pasir Gudang (166), Tangkak (166), Kota Tinggi (157) and Pengerang (156), with seven of the eight Johor areas recording higher readings than at 8am.
Outside Johor, the highest readings were recorded in Nilai (164) and Seremban (161) in Negeri Sembilan, followed by Bandaraya Melaka (158), Putrajaya (155) and Balok Baru Kuantan in Pahang (155).
Indera Mahkota Kuantan in Pahang (154), Bukit Rambai in Melaka (153), Rompin in Pahang (153), Batu Muda in WP Kuala Lumpur (152), Cheras in WP Kuala Lumpur (152), Kemaman in Terengganu (152), Alor Gajah in Melaka (151), Paka in Terengganu (150), Johan Setia in Selangor (142) and Jerantut in Pahang (116) also recorded unhealthy readings.
Alor Gajah and Johan Setia, which were in the moderate range at 8am, have moved into the unhealthy range.
Among the areas with the highest moderate readings were Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam in Selangor (99 each), Banting in Selangor (96), Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan (96), Tawau in Sabah (96) and IPD Serian in Sarawak (96).
Samalaju in Sarawak (92), Bintulu in Sarawak (90), Kuching in Sarawak (90) and Klang in Selangor (88) also recorded elevated moderate readings.
Meanwhile, 39 areas around the country recorded API readings at the moderate level, down from 41 as of 8am, while six areas recorded good readings, up from five.
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.
