PETALING JAYA: The number of areas with unhealthy air quality fell further to eight as of 4pm on Sunday (Oct 25), down from nine at 2pm, according to the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS).
The highest reading remained at IPD Serian in Sarawak (195), down slightly from 196 at 2pm.
Of the seven areas that were unhealthy at both times, six recorded lower readings. Only Paka in Terengganu went up, from 155 to 156.
Kluang (from 130 to 97) and Larkin (from 103 to 99) in Johor dropped out of the unhealthy list. Sibu in Sarawak was the only new entry, jumping from 100 to 141.
Sarawak had five of the eight unhealthy areas, up from four at 2pm. Johor's tally fell from four to two, while Terengganu had one.
In Sarawak, the unhealthy areas were IPD Serian (195), Kuching (183), Samarahan (180), Sri Aman (158) and Sibu (141).
Paka in Terengganu recorded 156, while in Johor, Pasir Gudang (153) and Batu Pahat (127) remained unhealthy. Batu Pahat's reading fell from 152 at 2pm.
Among areas with moderate readings, Larkin was the highest (99), followed by Kluang and Pengerang in Johor, as well as Sarikei (all 97).
Next were Kota Tinggi in Johor (96), Nilai in Negri Sembilan (95), Kapit (94), Bintulu (92), Seremban in Negri Sembilan (90) and Batu Muda in WP Kuala Lumpur (86).
Meanwhile, 51 areas recorded moderate readings, up from 50 at 2pm, while the number of areas with good air quality was unchanged at nine. These were Taiping, Seberang Jaya, Sungai Petani, Minden, Kangar, Alor Star, Kulim Hi-Tech, Langkawi and Balik Pulau.
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.
