KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s air quality continued to improve this morning, with almost all areas in the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak recording lower Air Pollution Index (IPU) of 100 or above.

According to the latest API readings on the Malaysian Air Pollution Index Management System (APIMS) portal as of 8am this morning, 67 areas had moderate air quality, including Sri Aman, Sarawak which recorded more than 400 API readings that were dangerous last Friday.

Johan Setia, Klang, Selangor, which has not shown any change in air quality since yesterday, became the only area with an unhealthy API at 152 this morning, while Putrajaya; Klang, Selangor as well as Tasek Ipoh and Seri Manjung, Perak had lower average API than unhealthy last night.

The API reading between 0 and 50 is well-defined, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) while 300 and above is dangerous.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department has previously predicted that the state of the haze that has hit the country for the past two weeks will gradually recover following the phase of the Transitional Monsoon beginning Sept. 24.

Meanwhile, a number of Malaysian students in Pekanbaru and Jambi, Indonesia are scheduled to be evacuated from the area today, following an emergency announcement in Riau due to haze.

According to a statement by the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) yesterday, 160 students will be deported to Malaysia this morning, while 120 will be evacuated to Malaysia Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia, at 6pm. – BERNAMA