Air Quality Deteriorates to Unhealthy Levels Across 11 Areas in Malaysia, Sarawak Hardest Hit

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Air quality across Malaysia has shown a marked deterioration, with 11 locations nationwide recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 9 am today, according to official environment monitoring data.

State-level data indicates that Sarawak is currently the hardest-hit region, accounting for seven of the 11 affected areas, primarily concentrated across its southern and central divisions.

According to updates from the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, Samarahan registered the worst air quality reading in the nation at 183, closely followed by neighboring Serian at 182 and the state capital of Kuching at 176.

Other locations in Sarawak that breached the unhealthy threshold include Sarikei and Sri Aman, which both recorded API readings of 158, alongside Mukah and Sibu, which each logged readings of 152.

In Peninsular Malaysia, four urban locations reported unhealthy air quality, with Johan Setia in Selangor recording the highest reading in the region at 154. Kuala Lumpur registered a reading of 131, while Putrajaya and Shah Alam posted API levels of 104 and 101, respectively.

Across the remaining monitoring networks, 55 areas nationwide recorded moderate air quality with API readings between 51 and 100, while only two areas managed to maintain good air quality below the 50 mark.

Under national environmental standards, API readings between 0 and 50 denote good air quality, 51 to 100 represent moderate levels, 101 to 200 are classified as unhealthy, 201 to 300 indicate very unhealthy conditions, and readings exceeding 300 trigger hazardous alerts.

The national air quality assessment is compiled hourly across 68 strategic monitoring stations operating nationwide.

–NMT