Number of haze-hit areas rises in central, south of peninsula

 Thirty areas record unhealthy air quality, with the API in Batu Pahat nearing very unhealthy levels.

Klang Valley was enveloped in haze, with APIs of 166 reported in Putrajaya, 163 in Cheras, and 163 in Johan Setia.

PETALING JAYA:

The ongoing haze over West Malaysia worsened this evening, with the number of areas recording unhealthy air quality climbing to 30 from 23 this morning.

Johor remained the worst hit with the air pollutant index (API) in Batu Pahat standing at 196 as of 5pm, nearing very unhealthy levels, followed by Segamat (171), Pasir Gudang (171), Tangkak (171), Kluang (168), Larkin (166), Kota Tinggi (162) and Pengerang (160).

Negeri Sembilan and Melaka also recorded unhealthy API readings: Nilai (174), Seremban (171), Melaka city (164), Bukit Rambai (158), Alor Gajah (157) and Port Dickson (155).

Klang Valley was also enveloped in haze, with APIs of 166 reported in Putrajaya, 163 in Cheras, 163 in Johan Setia, 161 in Shah Alam, 158 in Batu Muda, 157 in Petaling Jaya, 157 in Banting and 153 in Klang.

On the east coast, Pahang reported unhealthy API readings in Indera Mahkota (160), Jerantut (159), Balok Baru (157), Rompin (152) and Temerloh (143), while Terengganu had similar conditions in Kemaman (156) and Paka (156).

In Perak, unhealthy air quality was reported in Tanjung Malim (116).

The rest of the country reported moderate and good air quality, although the APIs in some parts of Sabah and Sarawak are approaching unhealthy levels.

API readings of between zero and 50 are categorised as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy, and 301 and above as hazardous. - FMT