KUALA LUMPUR: After nearly a month of enduring smoggy atmosphere, people in areas worst affected by the haze can now heave a sigh of relief.
The Department of Environment on its website said no division recorded an unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API).
The department’s automatic air stations also detected moderate API readings at 45 other areas nationwide.
As of 1pm, the air quality across the country had improved further with 10 areas recording healthy air compared to only seven areas earlier in the day.
Among the 10 areas which registered a healthy API reading were Tanjung Malim, Perak (47), as well as three divisions in Sabah – Keningau (41), Kota Kinabalu (38) and Sandakan (35).
A similar trend was found in Sarawak, where six divisions experienced healthy API reading. These include Miri (27), Kapit (28), Kuching (50), Limbang (30), Miri (42) and Sibu (50).
Only Seri Manjung, Perak recorded a moderate API reading of 93.
Balok Baru, Kelantan which experienced an unhealthy air quality with an API reading of 102 on Saturday recorded a moderate reading of 76.
Meanwhile the Singapore-based Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) on its website said the hotspot activities in Kalimantan and Sumatra could not be fully determined due to cloud cover.
“Kalimantan continued to be shrouded in moderate to dense smoke haze and the haze has spread to the sea areas between Kalimantan and southern Sumatra.
“Moderate to dense smoke haze was also detected in central and southern Sumatra,” it said on its website.
An API reading of 0 to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy and 300 and above, hazardous.
The public can visit the DOE’s website at http://www.doe.gov.my to know the current API readings.
The haze that shrouded the country since last week was said to be due to the forest fires in Indonesia, causing schools in several states to be closed and flight reschedules by some airlines.