Port Klang records unhealthy air pollutant reading as smoke returns

Almost the entire country is blanketed in smoke this morning, with most states showing moderate air pollution readings as of 10am, according to the Department of Environment's website.

Port Klang, however, is at the unhealthy level with the air pollutant index (API) at 102. The second highest API reading was recorded in Kampung Air Putih, Taiping, with a reading of 98.
Selangor and Perak were among the worst hit, with API readings ranging from 67 to 100. Petaling Jaya, Banting and Kuala Selangor showed moderate API readings of 80, while Shah Alam recorded a reading of 89.
With the exception of Samarahan, both Sabah and Sarawak recorded good air pollutant readings of below 50.
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above, hazardous.
The API calculation is based on five major air pollutants, namely sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ground level ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a diametre below 10 micrometres (PM10).
Most of these pollutants come from sources such as industries, motor vehicles, open burning and power generation.
The concentrations of these five pollutants are measured in 52 automatic air quality stations throughout Malaysia, mainly located in industrial and urban areas.
English daily The Star yesterday reported that the smoke emitted from factories and vehicles, as well as lower rainfall, had contributed to the haze.
Malaysian Meteorological Department spokesman Dr Hisham Mohd Anip told The Star that no rainfall was expected until next week, except for local isolated rain in inland areas.
He said the hot spell had also caused an increase in the number of open burning, forest and peat fires.
Last year, Putrajaya declared a state of emergency in Muar and Ledang in Johor which were choked by smoke from forest fires in Indonesia as the API readings crossed 300.
The Muar API reading was Malaysia's highest since the API hit 860 during a severe 1997-1998 haze crisis that gripped the region and thrust the issue onto the Southeast Asian agenda.
In August last year, following an outcry from parents and teachers unions, the Education Minisry declared that schools must close when the air pollutant index (API) reached 200 instead of the previous 300 limit the cabinet recently directed.
A circular on the directive was sent to state education departments by the Education Ministry on August 7.
The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) had expressed unhappiness at the height of the smoke crisis in June when schools were told to close only when the API reached 300. – June 22, 2014.