KUCHING (Oct 4): Lundu and Kanowit joined Samarahan in recording ‘Unhealthy’ air quality after their Air Pollutant Index (API) readings exceeded 100 by 4pm on Sunday.

According to the Natural Resources and Environment Board’s (NREB) API Status for Sarawak, the API readings in Lundu and Kanowit rose to 119 and 106 respectively by 4pm.

At noon, Lundu’s API reading stood at 84, while Kanowit recorded 92, with both locations in the ‘Moderate’ category.

Although Samarahan remained in the ‘Unhealthy’ category, its API reading dropped to 117 by 4pm, 34 points lower than the noon reading.

Most air quality monitoring stations recorded slight declines in API readings and remained in the ‘Moderate’ category.

The API in Betong declined from 99 at noon to 98 by 4pm, followed by Serian (95 to 93), Kuching (91 to 88), Sarikei (85 to 82), Belaga (81 to 80), Bintulu (79 to 78), Sibu (78 to 77), Industrial Training Institute Miri (73 to 72) and Tebedu (69 to 68).

In contrast, Lubok Antu, Miri, Lawas and Mukah recorded slight increases in API readings, although all remained in the ‘Moderate’ category.

Lubok Antu’s reading rose from 86 at noon to 87 by 4pm, while Miri increased from 77 to 79, Lawas from 72 to 77, and Mukah from 73 to 74.

Meanwhile, Sri Aman, Samalaju, Kapit and Limbang continued to record ‘Moderate’ air quality, with their API readings remaining unchanged at 98, 83, 78 and 62 respectively by 4pm.

Bario remained the only location with ‘Good’ air quality, although its API reading rose by two points from noon to 41 at 4pm.

An API reading of 101 to 200 is classified as ‘Unhealthy’, while readings of 51 to 100 are categorised as ‘Moderate’ and those of zero to 50 as ‘Good’.