Breathe easy? Not today as Sarawak chokes and Selangor, Perak and Kedah cough
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Malaysia woke up to hazy skies again this morning, with Sarawak bearing the brunt of the sm...
On August 23, Malaysia faced another day of hazy skies, with Sarawak bearing the brunt of the smog, according to the Malaysian Air Pollution Index Management System portal. As of 9am, seven locations nationwide fell into the unhealthy range on the Air Pollutant Index (API), with Serian recording the highest reading at 194, just six points away from the "very unhealthy" threshold.
Kuching, Sri Aman, and Samarahan followed with API readings of 183, 177, and 175, respectively. In peninsular Malaysia, Johan Setia in Selangor led with 157, Sungai Petani in Kedah logged 140, and Taiping in Perak registered 121. The Department of Environment monitors air quality through 68 stations across the country, updating the readings hourly.
The recent surge in air pollution coincides with the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre flagging clusters of hotspots in West and South Kalimantan and Sumatra, where moderate to dense smoke plumes have been observed. Prevailing winds are blowing from the southeast. Although no location has breached the "very unhealthy" mark yet, those in affected areas are advised to limit outdoor activities and wear masks when venturing outside.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
