Unhealthy Air Quality Recorded in 17 Areas Across Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — Unhealthy air quality was recorded in 17 areas across Malaysia as of 9:00 AM today, driven primarily by elevated Air Pollutant Index (API) levels in Sarawak and select locations in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

Data from the Department of Environment’s Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal revealed that Kapit and the Serian District Police Headquarters (IPD) in Sarawak registered the highest API readings nationwide, both reaching 167.

Sarawak accounted for a significant portion of the impacted areas, with multiple stations recording readings well above the unhealthy threshold. These included Sri Aman at 161, Bintulu at 159, Miri and Samarahan both at 157, Sibu at 156, the Industrial Training Institute (ILP) in Miri at 139, and Limbang at 102.

In Peninsular Malaysia, several urban and industrial centers experienced compromised air quality. Putrajaya and Nilai in Negeri Sembilan both logged API readings of 157, while neighboring Seremban recorded 154. Shah Alam in Selangor reported a reading of 149, while Bukit Rambai in Melaka stood at 151, and Tangkak in Johor recorded 107.

In Sabah, elevated readings were recorded at the Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic station, which registered an API of 153, while the primary Kota Kinabalu monitoring station recorded 104.

Across the rest of the country, 41 monitoring stations reported moderate air quality, while six areas recorded good readings.

Under the national air quality index standards, an API reading from 0 to 50 denotes good air quality, 51 to 100 indicates moderate levels, 101 to 200 is categorized as unhealthy, 201 to 300 represents very unhealthy air quality, and any reading exceeding 301 is classified as hazardous.

–NMT