PETALING JAYA: Haze continued to persist across the country, with 36 areas nationwide recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 6pm yesterday.
Based on the Department of Environment’s (DOE) Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, Segamat in Johor, recorded the highest API reading at 191, followed by Seremban in Negri Sembilan at 188.
Other affected areas in Johor were Kluang (180), Tangkak (175), Pasir Gudang (171), Larkin (170), Batu Pahat (165), Pengerang (157) and Kota Tinggi (154).
Other areas recording unhealthy API readings in Negri Sembilan were Nilai (184) and Port Dickson (169).
Unhealthy API levels were also recorded in Putrajaya at 175 and several areas in Selangor, namely Johan Setia (178), Shah Alam and Banting (171), Klang (166) and Petaling Jaya (165).
Cheras and Batu Muda in the capital city recorded readings of 170 respectively.
In Pahang, Rompin recorded 178, followed by Indera Mahkota (166), Balok Baru Kuantan (165) and Temerloh (153), while Kemaman in Terengganu recorded 158.
The affected areas in Melaka included Bukit Rambai (176), Bandaraya Melaka (175) and Alor Gajah (172), while in Perak, the affected areas were Tasek Ipoh (159), Pegoh Ipoh (156), Seri Manjung (155), Tanjung Malim (154) and Taiping (152).
In the northern states, Sungai Petani in Kedah recorded 152, while in Penang, the impacted areas included Minden (155), Seberang Perai (152) and Seberang Jaya (146).
The DOE said in a statement that the situation persisted due to dry weather conditions in parts of the southern Asean region, with 94 hotspots detected in Kalimantan on Wednesday.
Citing the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), the department said moderate to dense transboundary haze had been reported over southern and central Sumatra, Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia.
It urged the public to obtain air quality information from the department’s official channels to ensure that the information used was accurate and suitable for making decisions about daily activities and protecting health.
“For the official API readings, which are updated hourly, the public should refer to APIMS or the department’s official Environmental Quality Monitoring System (EQMS) application.
“Readings from APIMS serve as the government’s official reference for issuing health-related advice and managing haze situations,” DOE said.
It pointed out that differences between Malaysia’s official API readings and figures shown on other platforms did not necessarily mean pollution levels were being underestimated, as the platforms could use different scales, calculation methods, averaging periods and data sources.
