DoE: Balok Baru, Kemaman air quality worsens due to landfill fire
Its director-general, Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar, said as of 3pm today, nine areas nationwide recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, with the highest in Seremban (API 155), followed by Alor Gajah (157), Nilai (138), and Banting (135).
Other locations with unhealthy readings were Cheras (132), Temerloh (152), Balok Baru Kuantan (152), Kemaman (153), and Johan Setia (152).
"Apart from the landfill fire, the deterioration in air quality across most affected areas continues to be influenced by transboundary haze," he said in a statement.
Satellite data released by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) on July 20, based on NOAA-20 satellite imagery, detected 40 hotspots in Sumatra, 64 in Kalimantan, and 19 within Malaysia, including 12 in Sabah, three each in Pahang and Sarawak, and one in Selangor.
The ASMC's Regional Haze Map issued on July 21 showed smoke plumes and wind movement heading southwest.
Dry conditions were reported across southern Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and southern Kalimantan, with isolated hotspots detected in Vietnam and Thailand as well.
Wan Abdul Latiff said his department has intensified enforcement operations and daily patrols in areas at risk of open burning.
An API reading between 0 and 50 is good, 51 to 100 is moderate, while 101 to 200 is classified as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy and more than 300 is hazardous.
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