Serian Air Quality Deteriorates to ‘Hazardous’ Level as API Reaches 302

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Air quality in Serian, Sarawak, returned to hazardous levels this morning, with the monitoring station at the District Police Headquarters recording an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 302.

The sharp decline in air quality follows the lifting yesterday of the emergency declaration in the Serian Division, which had been consented to by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, on Friday after severe haze pushed pollution into the hazardous zone.

Data from the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal showed that three other divisions in Sarawak registered “very unhealthy” air quality levels this morning: Kuching (243), Samarahan (237), and Sri Aman (232).

Haze conditions remained widespread across Sarawak, with seven other monitoring stations recording unhealthy air quality. These include Mukah (184), Sarikei (183), Samalaju (178), Bintulu (170), Miri Industrial Training Institute (169), Miri (169), and Sibu (166).

In Peninsular Malaysia, several states also experienced elevated pollution levels. In Selangor, Johan Setia recorded the highest API reading at 168, followed by Shah Alam (165), Banting (159), Klang (156), Petaling Jaya (154), and Kuala Selangor (152).

Unhealthy air quality was similarly recorded in Perak, led by Tasek Ipoh (162), Seri Manjung (159), Tanjung Malim (156), and Pegoh Ipoh (152). In the Federal Territories, Batu Muda and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur recorded 157 and 154 respectively, while Putrajaya registered 155 and Labuan reached 128. Other affected areas include Nilai (157) and Seremban (153) in Negeri Sembilan, Bukit Rambai (149) and Alor Gajah (144) in Melaka, and Segamat (106) in Johor.

Nationwide, 37 areas recorded moderate air quality while two areas maintained good readings. Under national air quality standards, an API reading of 0 to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100 moderate; 101 to 200 unhealthy; 201 to 300 very unhealthy; and 301 and above hazardous.

–NMT