KUCHING, Sept 10: Air quality in the state capital has improved, while readings in Sri Aman remained high as of 8am today.
State Disaster Management Committee secretariat Major Ismail Mahedin from the Malaysian Civil Defence Force said Kuching recorded an Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 167, as compared to 249 at 3pm yesterday.
Kuching has been experiencing very unhealthy air quality over the past three days.
Sri Aman’s reading has also dropped to 202 this morning, as compared to 245 at 3pm yesterday.
According to the country’s air quality rating, an API reading of zero to 50 is “good,” 51 to 100 “moderate,” 101 to 200 “unhealthy,” 201 to 300 “very unhealthy,” and 301 and above is “hazardous.”
Other areas under the moderate category are Sibu (77), SK Baram (69), Mukah (60), Miri (67), Bintulu (67), Samalaju (58), Kapit (63), Limbang (53), Sarikei (77) and ILP Miri (63).
Meanwhile, in the Peninsular Malaysia, API reading in Putrajaya recorded an unhealthy level of 123.
Similarly are Batu Muda (134), Cheras (127), Johan Setia Klang (157), Nilai (129) and Rompin (193).
Hourly API readings are available on the Department of Environment (DOE) website at http://apims.doe.gov.my. — DayakDaily
