Haze in Johor's Pasir Gudang reaches unhealthy level

The haze blanketed southern Johor and Singapore on Aug 26, 2016. PHOTO: THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK

JOHOR BARU - The haze in Johor's Pasir Gudang area reached the "unhealthy" level before improving on Saturday (Aug 27), as other areas in the state saw air quality in the moderate range, The Star reported.

Air quality in the Pasir Gudang area reached the unhealthy level with an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 102 earlier Saturday morning, a day after the state was hit by the haze.

State Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said regional haze data issued by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) showed haze blanketing southern Johor and Singapore due to open burning areas near Sumatra Tengah in Riau in Indonesia.

As of 1pm, air quality in Pasir Gudang had improved to the moderate range with an API reading of 100, the highest recorded reading in the state, according to the Department of Environment's website. Larkin (90), Kota Tinggi (82) and Muar (63) in the state saw moderate readings.

Ayub also said that as of Friday, ASMC recorded 11 and three hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia respectively while only one hotspot was detected in Sibu, Sarawak.

An API reading of 51 to 100 is moderate, while readings between 100 to 200 indicates unhealthy air quality. API readings of between 201 to 300 is very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous.

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