{
  "id": 12824166,
  "title": "Hazy math: DoE explains why your AQI says 250 when the official API is 175",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/hazy-math-doe-explains-why-your-aqi-says-250-when-the-official-api-is",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-08T08:28:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/10/08/hazy-math-doe-explains-why-your-aqi-says-250-when-the-official-api-is-175/238237"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Department of Environment (DOE) has clarified the discrepancy between the Air Quality Index (AQI) figures displayed on independent mobile applications and third-party websites and the official Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index (API). The divergent numbers are due to different index scales, mathematical models, concentration thresholds, averaging durations, update intervals, and sensory inputs used by various platforms. While some international applications employ the US AQI standard or use low-cost uncalibrated sensors, predictive computational models, or satellite imagery, the DOE emphasizes that valid comparisons can only be made when matching identical geographic coordinates, time stamps, direct pollutant concentrations, and specific indexing methodologies. The DOE advises the public to rely on verified data from the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) web portal or the MyJAS EQMS mobile application, which update hourly and serve as the government’s official benchmark for health advisories and disaster response protocols.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}