KUALA LUMPUR - The overall air quality in Malaysia improved on Saturday (Sept 21) with the majority of states seeing a drop in the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, leaving none in the hazardous and very unhealthy categories, Bernama reported.

As at 8am, 18 areas recorded unhealthy API readings, including Sri Aman (170), Kuching (179), Samarahan (153), Sarikei (136), Sibu (127), Mukah (109), Bintulu (105), and Samalaju (103) in Sarawak.

On Friday, Sri Aman recorded the API reading of over 400, which was in the hazardous category.

According to Malaysia Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS), three areas in Selangor with unhealthy air quality were Shah Alam (108), Johan Setia (144), and Banting (119); as well as Nilai (139) and Seremban (117) in Negri Sembilan.

Other areas with unhealthy air quality were Batu Muda (133) and Cheras (142) in Kuala Lumpur, as well as Putrajaya (141).

An API between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; 51 and 100, moderate; 101 and 200, unhealthy; 201 and 300, very unhealthy and 301 and above, hazardous.

In Ipoh, all flights to and from Sultan Azlan Shah Airport will resume as scheduled on Saturday as the haze situation saw some improvement.

Airport general manager Mohd Ali Osman said a total of 12 flights between Singapore, Johor Baru and Ipoh would operate normally.

"We will continue to monitor the situation. Though the weather is hard to predict, normally everything will be okay once the haze starts to clear," he said, adding that the visibility was at 6km.

It was reported that six flights were called off due to the haze the day before, affecting almost 800 passengers.