The air quality worsened this morning with six areas in Perlis, Kedah and Penang recording Air Pollutant Index (API) readings indicating very unhealthy air quality as at 9am today.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE) portal, the areas were Kangar (API of 242) in Perlis, Alor Setar (228), Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani (244) and Langkawi (236) in Kedah, Seberang Jaya 2, Perai (272) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (236) in Penang.

Meanwhile, 28 areas recorded unhealthy air quality including Tanah Merah (120) in Kelantan, Melaka City (102), Nilai (102) and Seremban (103) in Negeri Sembilan, Jalan Tasek, Ipoh (158), Kampung Air Putih, Taiping (161) and Seri Manjung (182) in Perak.

Other areas were Kuching (125), Samarahan (131) and Sri Aman (162) in Sarawak, Kuala Selangor (151), Port Klang (159), Petaling Jaya (144) and Shah Alam (138) in Selangor, Kuala Terengganu (108), Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur (118) and Putrajaya (115).

The 16 areas which recorded moderate air quality included Kota Tinggi (63) and Muar (83) in Johor, Port Dickson (95) in Negeri Sembilan, Indera Mahkota, Kuantan and Jerantut (all at 92) in Pahang, Keningau (64) in Sabah, Bintulu (85) in Sarawak and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur (99).

Only Labuan recorded good air quality.

API readings of 0-50 indicate good air quality, 51-100 (moderate), 101-200 (unhealthy) 201-300 (very unhealthy), and 300 and above (hazardous).

Then public can visit http://apims.doe.gov.my to know the API readings in their respective areas.