THE air quality in Sarawak’s Sri Aman reached the “hazardous” level today, as other parts of the region continued to record “very unhealthy” readings.

Sri Aman’s air pollutant index (API) reading breached the 300 mark at 3am, and as at 9am, it stood at 367, making it the worst-affected area in Malaysia since the transboundary smoke issue started last month.

Kuching, meanwhile, recorded a “very unhealthy” API of 220.

The air quality in parts of the peninsula deteriorated, with Negri Sembilan’s Nilai and Port Dickson recording readings of above 200.

As at 10am, Nilai’s API stood at 202, and Port Dickson, 212. Schools in the latter area were ordered closed today due to the smoke.

Klang’s Johan Setia, which has consistently registered poor air quality, saw a reading of 233.

According to the API Malaysia website, there are now 28 areas in the country with “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” air, all of them in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca, northern Johor and eastern Pahang.

Most of the readings in these areas showed a pattern of worsening air quality, with smoke from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia continuing to blanket parts of Malaysia, as well as Singapore.

In total, more than 200 schools in Putrajaya, Selangor and Negri Sembilan have been closed.

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

The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre said forest-fire hotspots have been detected in West, Central and South Kalimantan, particularly along coastal areas.

It also said there are hotspots in the Sumatran provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung.

The Jakarta Post reported that the aforementioned areas are choked in thick smoke, which has caused the death of a baby, and thousands to fall sick. – September 17, 2019.