KUALA LUMPUR – Unhealthy air levels have been recorded in Banting, Cheras and Klang, according to the Environment Department.
As of 10am today, Banting recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 159, lower than the 163 recorded yesterday, the department’s Air Pollutant Index Management System said.
Cheras, meanwhile, recorded an API of 155 at 10am today, an increase from 101 yesterday evening.
Klang currently has an API of 153, also an increase, from 142 yesterday.
Readings of between 101 and 200 are “unhealthy,” 201 and 300 “very unhealthy” and above 300 are “hazardous”.
Around the peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak this morning, 46 other stations recorded moderate air quality levels with readings of between 51 and 100, while 19 stations reported “good” air quality.
A statement by METMalaysia earlier this month said the country was currently experiencing El Niño conditions, which would last for the second quarter of the year.
El Niño’s drier weather conditions also coincide with the inter-monsoon transition phase, which began on March 29 and will last until May.
Weak winds during this transition period can leave pollutants in the air but also create conditions for thunderstorms with short spells of heavy rain in the evenings. – April 10, 2024