PETALING JAYA: The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) has issued Alert Level 3 for southern South-East Asia, signalling a high risk of severe transboundary haze as dry weather and widespread hotspots persist.
In its haze update issued yesterday, the centre said moderate to dense smoke haze had affected parts of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Kalimantan, Sumatra and western Sarawak, with similar conditions reported in Papua and the Maluku Islands.
Scattered to widespread hotspots were detected across Kalimantan and southern Sumatra, though heavy cloud cover and thick smoke obscured the full extent of fire activity.
Many air quality monitoring stations in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Kalimantan and Sumatra recorded unhealthy to hazardous levels.
The ASMC said dry conditions are expected to persist in parts of southern South-East Asia in the coming days, although showers forecast over Peninsular Malaysia, northern and central Sumatra, and parts of Borneo could help improve the situation.
However, the risk of severe transboundary haze remains high in fire-prone areas experiencing prolonged dry weather.
Meanwhile, Department of Environment readings showed several areas in Johor recording unhealthy air quality as at 5pm yesterday, with Pasir Gudang registering the highest Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at 200, followed by Larkin at 199.
Other affected areas in Johor included Pengerang (181), Kota Tinggi (171), Batu Pahat (170), Kluang (169), Tangkak (160) and Segamat (155).
In Selangor, Johan Setia recorded an API reading of 181, followed by Klang (174), Petaling Jaya (171), Shah Alam (167), Banting (160) and Kuala Selangor (142).
In Negri Sembilan, Nilai recorded 180, Seremban 174 and Port Dickson 171.
In Melaka, Bandaraya Melaka recorded 180, Bukit Rambai 174 and Alor Gajah 167.
Batu Muda and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur recorded readings of 162, while Putrajaya registered 167 and Temerloh in Pahang recorded 117.
In Sabah, Tawau and Sandakan recorded readings of 153 and 113, respectively, while Seri Manjung and Tanjung Malim in Perak registered 160 and 157.
Thirty-nine monitoring stations across Perlis, Perak, Penang, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak recorded moderate API readings ranging from 52 to 99.
Kapit in Sarawak was the only station with good air quality at 50.
The Health Ministry has advised the public to wear N95 masks when outdoors amid the prolonged haze, warning that fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5) could enter the respiratory system and pose health risks.
In a statement on Thursday, the ministry urged the public to avoid outdoor activities when the API exceeds 100, indicating unhealthy air quality.
