{
  "id": 4543268,
  "title": "Sarawak air quality worsens, 4 areas record hazardous API readings",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/sarawak-air-quality-worsens-4-areas-record-hazardous-api-readings",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T01:12:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/08/1522484/sarawak-air-quality-worsens-4-areas-record-hazardous-api-readings"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On National Day, air quality in Sarawak deteriorated, with four areas registering hazardous readings and three others classified as very unhealthy, according to figures from the Department of Environment's Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS). Of the 68 air quality monitoring stations across the country, only one station reported good air quality, while 45 were in the moderate range and 21 fell within the unhealthy to hazardous category. Temerloh in Perak did not provide a reading.\n\nSerian police headquarters in Sarawak reported the highest API reading in the nation at 476, a marked increase from 436 the previous day. Meanwhile, Sri Aman's API reading rose from 260 to 326, pushing it from the very unhealthy category into the hazardous range. Samarahan and Kuching in Sarawak remained hazardous, although their readings slightly decreased from 337 to 330 and 321 to 317, respectively. Mukah experienced a sharp increase from 185 to 267, moving from the unhealthy category to very unhealthy. Sibu also entered the very unhealthy category after its API reading climbed from 195 to 219.\n\nFourteen stations across the nation recorded unhealthy API readings, including Limbang at 159, Miri at 170, ILP Miri at 168, Bintulu at 162, Kapit at 164, and Samalaju at 181 in Sarawak. Other stations in Penang, Sabah, Kedah, Perak, and Labuan also reported unhealthy readings. API readings are categorized as follows: 0 to 50 (good), 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy), and above 300 (hazardous).",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Air quality in Sarawak worsened today, with four locations recording hazardous readings and three others entering the “very unhealthy” category as of 8.45am on National Day.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Cloud seeding planned for areas with high API readings",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/cloud-seeding-planned-for-areas-with-high-api-readings",
        "published": "2026-08-30T22:50:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}