PETALING JAYA: Air quality improved slightly with 20 areas recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 3pm on Wednesday (Oct 21), down from 22 as of 8am, according to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS).
Bukit Rambai in Melaka remained the highest nationwide at 170, down from 174 at 8am.
All 20 areas were also unhealthy at 8am, with 16 recording lower readings, three recording higher readings and one unchanged.
Kluang and Kota Tinggi in Johor have dropped out of the unhealthy range since 8am, and no new areas were added to the list.
Johor and Selangor had the most unhealthy areas with five each, followed by Negri Sembilan and Melaka with three each.
The Johor areas were Batu Pahat (153), Larkin (152), Pasir Gudang (151), Segamat (134) and Tangkak (106). Four of the five recorded lower readings than at 8am, with Tangkak falling from 153, while Segamat rose from 123.
In Selangor, the areas were Klang (161), Johan Setia (160), Banting (157), Petaling Jaya (156) and Shah Alam (154), while Cheras (157) and Batu Muda (155) in WP Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (156) also recorded unhealthy readings.
In Negri Sembilan, the readings were Nilai (162), Seremban (154) and Port Dickson (154), while in Melaka they were Bukit Rambai (170), Bandaraya Melaka (159) and Alor Gajah (154). All three Melaka areas recorded lower readings than at 8am.
Paka in Terengganu (124) also recorded an unhealthy reading, down from 153 at 8am.
Among the areas with the highest moderate readings were Temerloh in Pahang (100), Kluang in Johor (99), Jerantut in Pahang (94), Pengerang and Kota Tinggi in Johor (90 each) and Seri Manjung in Perak and Rompin in Pahang (89 each).
Balok Baru Kuantan in Pahang (85), Indera Mahkota Kuantan in Pahang (83) and Kuala Selangor in Selangor (82) also recorded elevated moderate readings.
Meanwhile, 41 areas around the country recorded API readings at the moderate level, up from 39 at 8am, while seven areas recorded good readings, the same as at 8am.
Four of the seven were in Sarawak, with Mukah (50), ILP Miri (48), Miri (46) and Limbang (40), while the others were Kimanis (45) and Sandakan (42) in Sabah and Langkawi (30) in Kedah.
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.
