Air quality in several areas has improved

newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: The Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in the country did not surpass the 200 marker yesterday although the air quality remained “unhealthy” in many areas.

Department of Environment’s (DOE) statistics showed air quality in several areas had improve slightly over the day.

As at 5pm, air quality at Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur was at (137), Cheras (147), Putrajaya (168) Petaling Jaya (155), Shah Alam (155), and Klang (150).

Johan Setia in Klang remained in the “very unhealthy” category but its API improved as it fell below the 200 mark at 195 by 5pm.

API levels in Taiping in Perak, Langkawi in Kedah, Minden in Pulau Pinang and four other areas in Johor moved into the “moderate” level with API readings below 100. However, in Kelantan’s Tanah Merah and Kota Baru, API readings rose to 108 and 117 compared with 99 and 92 at 3am, respectively. In 24 other areas, the readings were over 100.

The slightly improved situation is due to the transition of the southwest monsoon to the northeast monsoon as predicted by the Meteorological Department. Its directorgeneral Jailan Simon said, “with the presence of wind from the northeast, the haze from a neighbouring country will decrease”.

The Health Ministry has seen an increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for conjunctivitis, asthma and respiratory infections as a result of the prolonged unhealthy air situation.

It reported that asthma cases increased from 1,222 to 1,265, conjunctivitis from 266 to 403 cases, and there was a slight dip in uppper respiratory tract infections from 8,258 to 7,465 cases.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham said areas reported with higher air pollution levels saw more cases of respiratory infections, conjunctivitis and skin rash conditions.

National Disaster Management Agency said cloud seeding operations and water bombing had shown to be effective in improving the air quality as API readings had improved in many areas.