JOHOR BARU: Except for Pasir Gudang, the haze in Johor Saturday has somewhat lifted since the state was hit by haze on Friday morning.

State Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said regional haze data issued by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) showed haze blanketing southern Johor and Singapore due to open burning areas near Sumatra Tengah (Riau) in Indonesia.

As of 7am on Saturday, 26 areas in the state recorded good API readings while 12 other areas stood at average levels.>

According to the Department of Environment’s website, API readings for Kota Tinggi (82) and Larkin Lama (96).

“Only the Pasir Gudang area has reached the unhealthy level with API reading of 103,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Ayub also said that as of Friday, ASMC recorded 11 and three hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia respectively while only one hotspot was detected in Sibu, Sarawak.

A reading of 100 to 200 indicates unhealthy air quality, while 201 to 300 is very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous. A reading of 51 to 100 is moderate.-thestar