KUALA LUMPUR: The air quality in Rompin, Pahang and Banting, Selangor have reached the unhealthy level of the Air Pollutant Index (API) of the Department of Environment.
A reading at the Rompin API station as of 9am showed that the API had touched 171 on the scale, whereas it has reached 102 in Banting.
Another 62 API stations nationwide recorded moderate reading, while only two stations saw good air quality. No stations registered a hazardous reading.
An API reading between 0 and 50 is good, 51 to 100 is moderate, while 100 to 200 is classified as unhealthy, 200 to 300 as very unhealthy and more than 300 is hazardous.
Meanwhile, nine states in the peninsula are reported to be at Level 1 alert while Pendang in Kedah is at Level 2 (Heatwave) with temperatures between 37 and 40 degrees Celsius.
Based on a Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) update, as at 5.20pm yesterday, 21 areas are at Level 1 with temperatures between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius.
The areas listed are Chuping in Perlis; Kota Setar, Sik, Baling and Kulim (Kedah); Hulu Perak, Kuala Kangsar, Kinta and Batang Padang (Perak); Jerantut, Raub, Temerloh, Maran and Bentong (Pahang); Sepang and Petaling (Selangor).
Also listed are Port Dickson (Negri Sembilan), Melaka Tengah (Melaka), Tangkak in Johor and Kuala Lumpur.
The heatwave is expected to last for three consecutive days.
Meanwhile, Sabah and Sarawak recorded daily maximum temperatures of less than 35 degrees Celsius.