KUCHING (Sept 13): Sibu moved out of the unhealthy air quality category at noon today as haze conditions showed slight improvement across parts of Sarawak.

Sibu recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 99 at noon, down from 109 at 9am, shifting it into the moderate category.

Lubok Antu, however, remained the state’s only station recording very unhealthy air quality, with its API holding at 201 at noon.

Serian continued to record the highest reading among stations in the unhealthy category, though it showed a slight improvement from 185 at 9am to 181 at noon.

Sri Aman also dropped from 174 to 168, while Betong (MCAQM) fell from 172 to 168.

In Kuching, the API eased from 156 to 154, while Samarahan edged down from 156 to 155.

Other stations recording unhealthy air quality at noon were Kanowit at 149 (up slightly from 148), Tebedu at 129 (down from 137); and Lundu at 112 (down from 122).

Apart from Sibu, other stations recording moderate air quality at noon included Sarikei (88, down from 91 at 9am), Mukah (78, down from 80), Bintulu (77, up from 74), Kapit (75, down from 76), Miri (70, down from 72), Samalaju (70, unchanged), Lawas (62, down from 63), ILP Miri (59, down from 61) and Limbang (55, unchanged).

Bario continued to record the state’s only good air quality reading, improving from 50 at 9am to 43 at noon.

Under the API classification, readings of 0 to 50 indicate good air quality, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy and 201 to 300 very unhealthy.

Residents in areas experiencing unhealthy and very unhealthy air quality are advised to reduce prolonged outdoor activities, particularly children, the elderly and those with respiratory or heart conditions.