KUALA LUMPUR – Air quality in several parts of Selangor and Negri Sembilan today saw slight improvement compared to last night, but Cheras and Nilai remain at unhealthy levels as of 11am.
The hourly readings released on the Air Pollutant Index (API) Management System website showed that Cheras recorded the highest reading at 149, followed by Negri Sembilan’s Nilai at 105, and Selangor’s Shah Alam at 99.
An API reading is categorised as 0–50 (good), 51–100 (moderate), and 101–200 (unhealthy).
Yesterday, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) activated an Alert Level 2 warning for Sumatra.
ASMC stated that over the past week, extended dry weather conditions have become more widespread across southern Asean, which contributed to an increase in the number of hotspots in the region.
Based on surveillance from the NOAA-20 satellite, 241 and 145 hotspots were detected in Sumatra on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Moderate to dense smoke haze was observed to emanate from clusters of hotspots detected in central and southern parts of Sumatra, increasing the risk of transboundary smoke haze occurring.
Other places with near-unhealthy API levels include Balik Pulau, Penang (95); Banting, Selangor (95); Larkin, Johor (94); Batu Pahat, Johor (92); Tangkak, Johor (92); Putrajaya (92); Taiping, Perak (92) and Petaling Jaya, Selangor (91). – September 30, 2023