KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has commenced the daily submission of Situation Reports to the Asean Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution, starting today.

This follows a Level 2 alert issued by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) on Saturday for the southern Asean region, signalling heightened concern over transboundary haze in the region.

Department of Environment director-general Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said the reports include detailed information on fire incidents, underlying causes, preparedness measures and mitigation actions undertaken on the ground.

"The submissions are regarded as official and reliable sources of information, and serve as key references to support regional coordination and response efforts," he told the New Straits Times.

Wan Abdul Latiff was responding to the Level 2 alert for the southern Asean region issued by ASMC.

When asked about the current haze situation in Malaysia, particularly in Peninsular Malaysia, Wan Abdul Latiff said air quality data from 68 monitoring stations nationwide indicated that the haze has been categorised as moderate since yesterday.

"As of now, only five stations are recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) levels, mostly in areas along the central west coast," he said.

The highest API reading was recorded in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, at 163, he added.

Wan Abdul Latiff also confirmed that no areas have recorded very unhealthy API levels (200 and above) so far.

"Later today, conditions are expected to improve. The regional haze map issued by the ASMC shows no smoke haze over the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

"This is consistent with the reduction in the number of hotspots detected in Sumatra, with 65 compared to 79 hotspots on Friday.

"However, with dry weather conditions expected to persist in the coming days, the risk of haze recurrence remains.

"Continued vigilance is crucial, as open burning and forest or peatland fires may trigger a resurgence in haze episodes," he said.