Air quality at unhealthy levels in 8 areas

 A total of 57 areas have recorded moderate air quality.

Indonesia is set to begin cloud seeding operations in Riau province today, to combat escalating forest and land fires which are causing haze to drift into parts of Malaysia. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Air quality in several parts of Peninsular Malaysia has reached unhealthy levels.

According to the hourly readings published on the environment department’s Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) website, eight areas recorded unhealthy air pollutant index (API) readings as of 9am today, with Alor Gajah in Melaka the worst affected at 160.

This was followed by Temerloh, Pahang (156); Banting, Selangor (155); Nilai, Negeri Sembilan (155); Kemaman, Terengganu (153); Johan Setia, Selangor (152); Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (151); and Putrajaya (124).

Meanwhile, 57 areas recorded moderate air quality.

An API reading of zero to 50 indicates good air quality, 51-100 moderate, 101-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy, and above 300 hazardous.

Indonesia is set to begin cloud seeding operations in Riau province today, to combat escalating forest and land fires which are causing haze to drift into parts of Malaysia, reported Reuters.

A spokesman for Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency said the operation would continue for at least seven days.

Data from Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency indicated 1,208 fire hotspots across Sumatra as of Sunday, with 586 located in Riau alone.

Indonesian broadcaster Metro TV reported that haze from these fires has already reached parts of Malaysia.

Environment department director-general Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaafar yesterday said the deterioration in air quality was influenced by the movement of smoke and haze entering the west coast region of the country over the past 24 hours.

“No large-scale fires in the country have been detected,” he said. - FMT