PETALING JAYA: Haze eased with 22 areas recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 8am on Wednesday (Oct 21), down from 25 as of 6pm on Tuesday (Oct 20), according to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS).
Bukit Rambai in Melaka recorded the highest reading at 174, up from 166 as of 6pm on Tuesday, while Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur, which topped the list then at 173, fell to 159.
Of the 21 areas that remained unhealthy, 15 recorded lower readings than on Tuesday evening, while five recorded higher readings and one was unchanged.
Pengerang in Johor and Tasek Ipoh, Pegoh Ipoh and Tanjung Malim in Perak have dropped out of the unhealthy range, leaving Perak with none, while Segamat in Johor is the only new addition.
Johor had the most unhealthy areas with seven, followed by Selangor with five and Negri Sembilan and Melaka with three each.
The Johor areas were Batu Pahat (157), Larkin (155), Tangkak (153), Pasir Gudang (152), Kluang (151), Segamat (123) and Kota Tinggi (111). Of the six that were also unhealthy on Tuesday evening, only Batu Pahat recorded a higher reading, while Kota Tinggi fell sharply from 156.
In Selangor, the areas were Johan Setia (160), Klang (159), Banting (159), Shah Alam (158) and Petaling Jaya (157), while Batu Muda (159) and Cheras (159) in WP Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (158) also recorded unhealthy readings.
In Negri Sembilan, the readings were Nilai (161), Seremban (158) and Port Dickson (155), while in Melaka they were Bukit Rambai (174), Bandaraya Melaka (162) and Alor Gajah (158). All three Melaka areas recorded higher readings than on Tuesday evening.
Paka in Terengganu (153) also recorded an unhealthy reading.
Among the areas with the highest moderate readings were Pengerang in Johor (98), Temerloh in Pahang (95), Jerantut in Pahang (93), Rompin in Pahang (92), Balok Baru Kuantan in Pahang (87) and Indera Mahkota Kuantan in Pahang (86).
Tasek Ipoh in Perak (84), Kemaman in Terengganu (84), Seri Manjung in Perak (83), Tanjung Malim in Perak (82) and Kuala Selangor in Selangor (82) also recorded elevated moderate readings.
Meanwhile, 39 areas around the country recorded API readings at the moderate level, up from 35 on Tuesday evening, while seven areas recorded good readings, down from eight.
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.
