The Petaling Jaya old town area shrouded in haze, September 7, 2015. — file picture

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The haze has worsened in Selangor, Sarawak, Negeri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur with Air Pollutant Index (API) readings exceeding 100.

Banting in Selangor recorded the highest API, at 176, at 10am today, according to the Department of Environment’s (DOE) website.

Other areas in Selangor with unhealthy air are Port Klang, with an API reading of (165), Shah Alam (148), Kuala Selangor (144) and Petaling Jaya (143).

In Sarawak, four areas recorded unhealthy API, namely Sri Aman (134), Sarikei (119), Samarahan (118) and Kuching (105).

The federal capital was also shrouded in haze, with Batu Muda recording an API of 161 and Cheras, at 152, while the administrative capital of Putrajaya recorded an API of 161.

In Negeri Sembilan, Nilai recorded an API reading of 168, Seremban (162) and Port Dickson (146), while in Melaka it was 143 at Bukit Rambai and Bandaraya Melaka (129).

The API reading in Kemaman, Terengganu was 115.

Unhealthy air was also detected in Perak, with an API reading of 138 recorded in Seri Manjung (138), followed by SK Jalan Pegoh (130) and Jalan Tasek (122), both in Ipoh, and Taiping (109).

In Johor, the API reading in Muar was 120, Larkin Lama (104) and Pasir Gudang (101), while at Balok Baru in Kuantan and Jerantut, Pahang, the readings were 111 and 102, respectively.

The API readings in Penang were 107 at Seberang Jaya 2 (Perai), and USM (112).

Two areas, however, recorded good air quality. They are Kuala Terengganu (44) and Tanah Merah (35).

Air quality with API readings of 0-50 is categorised as good, 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 301 and above (hazardous).

The public can visit the DOE’s website at http://www.doe.gov.my to know the current API readings. — Bernama