KUCHING: Air quality in Serian worsened sharply this afternoon, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) surging to 240 as of 5:00 pm today.
The reading at IPD Serian, now the highest in Sarawak, rose from 204 at noon, placing the area firmly in the very unhealthy category.
Sri Aman remained very unhealthy at 228, a slight increase from 227 at noon.
Air quality also worsened in Kuching and Samarahan, with readings rising from 174 to 182 and from 173 to 189 respectively.
Mukah recorded an API of 171, followed by Sibu (166), Bintulu (157), Kapit (156) and Samalaju (152), all at unhealthy levels.
Sarikei remained unchanged at 193.
Meanwhile, Miri and ILP Miri recorded moderate readings of 79 each, while Limbang stood at 58.
At noon, only Serian and Sri Aman were in the very unhealthy category, while Samalaju was still at the moderate level with a reading of 96.
Earlier today, the Department of Environment (JAS) said moderate to thick transboundary smoke plumes detected over West Kalimantan were moving northwards into western Sarawak.
Under the National Haze Action Plan, schools, kindergartens and nurseries are to close immediately when API readings exceed 200, while outdoor classroom activities must stop when readings exceed 100.
