KUALA LUMPUR: Balik Pulau in Penang remained the only location in the Peninsular to come under the ‘Very Unhealthy’ range as Air Pollutant Index (API) showed a gradual reduction in their readings involving air quality monitoring 68 stations nationwide.
Balik Pulau recorded a reading of 219 as of 7am, gradually coming down from a high of 262 it recorded at 4pm yesterday.
Poor air quality, however, continued to dog Sarawak with five locations coming under the ‘Very Unhealthy’ range. Sri Aman, which was on the ‘Hazardous’ level yesterday, is also continuing to see its air quality slowly improve.
The 7am reading saw Sibu (234), Sarikei (224), Sri Aman (206), Samarahan (229), Kuching (271) coming under the ‘Very Unhealthy’ range, while ILP Miri (107), Miri (109), Samalaju (132), Bintulu (151) and Mukah (195) which came under the ‘Unhealthy” range, saw their air quality improving overnight, albeit slowly.
Johan Setia, which had been choked by haze since the beginning of this month, finally had a break when it dropped into the ‘Unhealthy’ range. Its 6am and 7am readings saw it register 197 and 188 respectively.
Most of Klang Valley continued to remain under the ‘Unhealthy’ range as of 7am.
There were no locations nationwide came under the ‘Hazardous’ range, while six locations came under the ‘Very Unhealthy’ range. The number of stations recording ‘Unhealthy’ reading was 41 API station, whereas ‘Moderate’ air quality was recorded in 21 stations nationwide, while there was nil API station recording good air quality.
The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) said moderate to dense smoke haze continued to emanate from persistent hotspots in the central and southern provinces of Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra of Sumatra. In Jambi, persistent clusters of hotspots have been emitting significant amount of smoke haze since yesterday.
“Some of the smoke haze from Sumatra has been blown by the prevailing winds to affect Singapore and parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
“In Kalimantan, widespread smoke haze from persistent hotspot clusters continued to be observed in South, Central and West Kalimantan.
“Some of the smoke haze has been transported to the nearby sea areas and western Sarawak.”
It added that reduced visibility due to haze was also reported in parts of Sabah and Brunei Darussalam. Extensive smoke haze was observed over the South China Sea area due to haze blown there from Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The Education Ministry in a statement last night called for all schools in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor and Penang to be closed for two days (Thursday and Friday) due to the haze.
Bernama reported that the National Unity and Integration Department in a statement said the 2019 Unity Week Celebration, which should be held on Sept 21 and 22 at Dataran Merdeka, has been postponed due to very unhealthy air quality in the federal capital.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) director-general Dr Siti Zaharah Ishak advised road users to be careful when driving in the current haze condition to avoid any untoward incidents.
“Motorcyclists should wear bright colour or self-illuminating jackets and motorists should avoid stopping at illegal areas for their own safety,” she said in a statement last night.
API reading of between 0 and 50 is categorised as good, 51- 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and above 300 (hazardous).
7am Air Pollutant Index
VERY UNHEALTHY: 6
Balik Pulau (219)
Sibu (234)
Sarikei (224)
Sri Aman (206)
Samarahan (229)
Kuching (271)
UNHEALTHY: 41
Sungai Petani (129)
Kulim Hi-Tech (141)
Seberang Jaya (145)
Seberang Perai (138)
Minden (177)
Taiping (139)
Tasek Ipoh (146)
Pegoh Ipoh ( 122)
Seri Manjung (127)
Batu Muda (155)
Cheras (148)
Putrajaya (150)
Kuala Selangor (135)
Petaling Jaya (167)
Shah Alam (156)
Klang (145)
Banting (145)
Nilai (167)
Seremban (136)
Port Dickson (157)
Alor Gajah (134)
Bukit Rambai (141)
Bandaraya Melaka (138)
Segamat (14
6)
Batu Pahat (130)
Kluang (139)
Larkin (164)
Pasir Gudang (134)
Pengerang (111)
Tangkak (131)
Temerloh (102)
Kemaman (103)
Paka (104)
Kuala Terengganu (111)
ILP Miri (107)
Miri (109)
Samalaju (132)
Bintulu (151)
Mukah (195)
Johan Setia (188)