KUCHING, Aug 30 — Serian recorded a hazardous Air Pollutant Index (API) reading as of 8am today.
According to the Department of Environment (DOE)’s Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, the API reading at the Serian District Police Headquarters monitoring station stood at 364.
Meanwhile, three areas in Sarawak recorded very unhealthy API readings, namely Samarahan (300), Kuching (291) and Sri Aman (214).
Areas recording unhealthy API readings include Sarikei (195), Sibu (187), Bintulu (179), Samalaju (171), Mukah (170), Kapit (159), Miri (155) and the Miri Industrial Training Institute (ILP) (151).
An API reading of zero to 50 indicates good air quality, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy), and above 300 (hazardous).
API figures are updated hourly based on readings from 68 monitoring stations nationwide.
Meanwhile, five areas in the peninsula, namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak recorded unhealthy API readings as of 9am today.
According to the APIMS portal, Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur and Johan Setia in Selangor recorded API readings of 153 each, followed by Tanjung Malim (121) and Taiping (113) in Perak, and Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (105).
Bernama reported yesterday that asthma cases in the country had surged amid worsening air quality caused by haze affecting several areas nationwide, with 1,811 cases recorded in Epidemiological Week (EW) 34 (Aug 23-29), compared with 219 cases in the previous week.
The Health Ministry (MOH) said the figures were based on surveillance data from sentinel facilities.
The ministry said conjunctivitis cases also rose to 720 from 146 in EW 33, while upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) cases fell by 50 per cent to 1,857 from 3,674.
It said no deaths linked to complications arising from the haze had been reported.
Following the rise in respiratory-related illnesses, the MOH advised the public, particularly high-risk groups such as children, senior citizens and those with chronic lung conditions, to limit outdoor physical activities and wear suitable masks, such as N95 masks, when outdoors. — Bernama
