Three areas in Sarawak recorded hazardous Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 8 am on Wednesday, with Serian recording the highest reading at 320.
Data from the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) showed Kuching and Samarahan also breached the hazardous threshold, recording API readings of 318 and 302 respectively.
The situation was also severe in five other areas in Sarawak, where API readings reached very unhealthy levels. Sibu recorded 292, followed by Sarikei at 283, Mukah at 241, Bintulu at 226 and Sri Aman at 214.
Across the country, 16 monitoring stations recorded unhealthy air quality readings between 101 and 200.
Samalaju recorded the highest unhealthy reading at 196, followed by Kapit at 187, Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic at 185, ILP Miri at 183 and Labuan at 181.
Other locations recording unhealthy readings were Miri at 181, Kota Kinabalu at 179, Kimanis at 175, Keningau at 173, Limbang at 173, Johan Setia at 161, Sandakan at 152, Putrajaya at 148, Nilai at 137, Tawau at 123 and Seremban at 116.
Meanwhile, 44 monitoring stations recorded moderate API readings.
Under the API classification, readings between 0 and 50 indicate good air quality, while 51 to 100 are considered moderate. Readings from 101 to 200 are unhealthy, 201 to 300 are very unhealthy and anything above 300 is classified as hazardous.
