Air quality in Serian exceeds emergency level at 510

As of 10.45am, the API reading in Serian stood at a hazardous level of 518. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: The air pollutant index (API) reading in Serian, Sarawak, has surpassed the 500-mark where an emergency will be declared.As of 10.45am, the API reading in Serian stood at a hazardous level of 518.The API level also remained hazardous in Kuching (310), while very unhealthy air quality was reported in Samarahan (281) and Sri Aman (245).Sarawak deputy premier Douglas Uggah Embas previously said a haze emergency would be declared at the district level if an area’s API reached 500.Upon the declaration of a disaster emergency, all government and private-sector offices and workplaces will be closed, except essential services.A haze emergency was declared in Kuching in September 1997 when an API reading of 650 was recorded. Three areas, all in Sarawak, recorded very unhealthy air quality: Kuching, Samarahan and Sri Aman.

(Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: The air quality in Serian, Sarawak, reached 495 on the air pollutant index (API) at 7am this morning, close to the 500-mark where an emergency would be declared.The environment department’s API portal could not provide an update on the situation in Serian as of 9am, saying the reading at the station was "not available".Sarawak deputy premier Douglas Uggah Embas previously said a haze emergency would be declared at the district level if an area’s API reached 500.The air quality in Kuching reached the hazardous level at 9am, with an API of 298, while Samarahan and Sri Aman recorded very unhealthy API readings of 279 and 248, respectively.The rest of the state reported unhealthy API readings with the exception of several areas such as Limbang (96), Miri (91) and Kapit (90) which had moderate air quality.The air quality in Sabah also improved, with only Sandakan (152) and the Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic (107) seeing unhealthy API levels.The air quality in the northern parts of West Malaysia showed significant improvements, with most areas recording moderate API readings and 10 areas in Kedah, Penang and Kelantan seeing good air quality.Johor, however, had unhealthy air quality in Pasir Gudang (121) and Segamat (109).