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THE haze in the Serian area, Sarawak, has entered an emergency phase when the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at the Serian District Police Headquarters (IPD) monitoring station reached 519 as of 3.50 pm this afternoon.
Based on data from the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal of the Department of Environment (DOE), the reading was the highest recorded in the country at that time.
An API reading of more than 300 is categorised as hazardous, making the air quality situation in Serian very worrying.
Kuching also recorded a hazardous reading of 313, making it the second area in Sarawak to record readings above 300.
Meanwhile, Samarahan recorded a reading of 284, while Sri Aman recorded 236, both at very unhealthy levels.
The haze also affected several other areas in the unhealthy category around Sarawak, Sabah and several districts in the Peninsula with API readings between 101 and 200.
The affected areas are Sarawak (Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, Samalaju and ILP Miri), Sabah (Tawau, Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic and Sandakan) and Johor (Pasir Gudang, Segamat, Kota Tinggi and Larkin).
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said further action, including the possibility of declaring a disaster emergency will be discussed with the Sarawak government, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said he had contacted Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg yesterday to discuss the matter.
He also assured that appropriate safety measures, including the suspension of office and school operations, except for critical agencies, would be implemented should an emergency be declared due to worsening API readings. – September 4, 2026
