THE air quality on most of the peninsula and in Sarawak remains unhealthy, with 19 areas scoring high on the air pollution index (API) as of 3pm today.

Fifteen areas on the peninsula with unhealthy API readings are Batu Muda (170) and Cheras (159) in Kuala Lumpur; Putrajaya (144); Petaling Jaya (149), Shah Alam (140), Klang, Johan Setia (160) and Banting (121) in Selangor; Port Dickson (105), Nilai (152) and Seremban (121) in Negri Sembilan; Bukit Rambai (103) and Alor Gajah (102) in Malacca; Tangkak (116) in Johor; and Rompin (196) in Pahang.

The air quality has steadily worsened since this morning in most of these areas.

In Sarawak, Sri Aman is seeing an API of 182, Samarahan (119) and Kuching (138).

The Sarawak Education Department in a statement said 409 schools were closed today, including 62 secondary schools and 347 primary schools, affecting 157,479 students.

It will decide whether the closure will continue tomorrow based on the API readings at 6pm today.

An API reading of 0-50 is good, 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy), and 300 and above (hazardous).

The Selangor Health Department has advised those living in the affected areas to take steps to reduce the impact of the worsening air quality.

They are advised to stay indoors and to keep their windows closed at home and when driving. They should also drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Face masks are recommended when outdoors.

Selangor Health director Dr Khalid Ibrahim said the state authorities were keeping an eye on the situation, Bernama reports.

“We are still monitoring the situation and if it worsens, and the API reading exceeds 200 (very unhealthy), the Selangor Health Department will open state and district operations rooms,” he said in a statement, today.

Dr Khalid added that the Health Department was also monitoring smoke-related diseases such as infections of upper respiratory tract infection, asthma, and conjunctivitis at five Health Ministry sentinel clinics.

The five clinics are the Kota Damansara Health Clinic (KK), the Section 7 KK in Shah Alam for the Petaling district, KK Pandamaran, Klang, KK Teluk Datok, Kuala Langat and KK Kuala Selangor.

“In view of the current haze condition, the monitoring is done daily. However, during the last one week, there has been no significant increase in the number of patients who seek treatment for haze-related diseases,” he said.

Dr Khalid advised those experiencing coughs, colds, asthma, eye pain and chronic lung infection to seek treatment at the nearest clinic.

To find out more on how to reduce the effects of the smoke on health, go to www.infosihat.gov.my. – September 10, 2019.