KUALA LUMPUR: Thursday appeared to be a good day for Malaysians as API readings proved that the haze was clearing up.
It was earlier reported that all states in the country recorded good and moderate Air Pollutant Index (API) reading except for Seberang Jaya 2 in Perai which recorded a 101 API reading at 10am yesterday.
The air quality in Seberang Jaya 2 improved and reached moderate levels (100) at 12pm.
The last API reading at 3pm was 98.
The other regions in the country continued to experience haze-free air with most of them recording API between 55 and 80.
Taiping and Ipoh, which both recorded unhealthy API levels on Wednesday, continued to record moderate API readings.
At press time, the last reading at 3pm were 88 for Taiping and 68 for Ipoh.
The API reading for Taiping at 6am yesterday was 94 whereas the reading for Ipoh was 74.
Both towns had a 6-point drop at 3pm from their 6am readings.
When asked if the haze will continue, DOE’s Director of Air Division Kalsom Abd Ghani said that as API reading was determined based on 24 hours average, they would need to monitor the situation for the next 24 hours ahead any concrete conclusion could be made on the situation.
Kalsom mentioned that another crucial factor that affected the severity of haze was the hotspots in the source country.
“If the forest fires are persistent, the haze might be prolonged,” she said.
The public can visit the DOE’s web site at http://www.doe.gov.my for hourly updates on API readings.