SHAH ALAM, Sept 2 - Air quality in Johan Setia deteriorated to unhealthy levels this morning, with the area recording an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 161 as of 7.37 am, the highest in Selangor.
Five other monitoring stations in the state recorded moderate air quality, with Shah Alam and Banting registering API readings of 94 each, followed by Klang at 93, and Kuala Selangor and Petaling Jaya at 80 each.
Under the National Haze Action Plan, all outdoor school activities must be suspended once API readings exceed 100, while schools, kindergartens and childcare centres must close immediately when readings exceed 200.
Department of Environment (DOE) deputy director-general (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said yesterday that preparations to close affected schools, kindergartens and childcare centres should begin if API readings show an upward trend towards 200.
She said the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) would activate disaster management committees at the district, state or federal level if API readings remain above 150 for more than 24 hours.
Cloud-seeding operations may also be carried out if readings exceed 150 for more than 24 hours, subject to suitable weather conditions and cloud availability.
East Malaysia chokes
The deterioration in air quality was even more severe in Sarawak this morning, where three locations recorded hazardous readings.
The Serian district police headquarters recorded the country’s highest API reading at 322, followed by Kuching at 319 and Samarahan at 306.
Five other locations in Sarawak were at very unhealthy levels, with Sibu recording an API of 295, Sarikei 286, Mukah 242, Bintulu 228 and Sri Aman 219.
Samalaju was approaching the very unhealthy threshold with a reading of 198, followed by Kapit at 187, ILP Miri at 184, Miri at 182 and Limbang at 173.
In Sabah, unhealthy air quality was recorded at Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic, with an API of 184, followed by Kota Kinabalu at 178, Kimanis 174, Keningau 173, Sandakan 152 and Tawau 130.
Labuan also recorded unhealthy air quality at 181, while Putrajaya registered an API of 135.
In Negeri Sembilan, Nilai recorded an API of 134 and Seremban 108, both at unhealthy levels.
Azuri said the country’s air quality had deteriorated, particularly in Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan, due to the movement of transboundary haze from various directions.
Citing a report by the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), she said satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NOAA-20 satellite on August 31 detected 261 hotspots in Kalimantan and 63 in Sumatra, as well as one each in Johor and Sarawak.
The ASMC regional haze map showed predominantly dry weather across much of the southern ASEAN region, except central Peninsular Malaysia, northern and central Sumatra and northeastern Borneo, which experienced rainfall.
API readings of between zero and 50 are classified as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy and readings above 300 as hazardous.
