The Department of Environment (DOE) today said four of the five areas which hit the 'unhealthy' mark on the Air Pollutant Index (API) are located in the Klang Valley, suggesting a southerly migration of the haze.

"The air quality status in the Klang Valley has declined, whereby the following areas: Gombak, Klang, Shah Alam, and Petaling Jaya, suffer from 'unhealthy' air quality," it said in a statement.

Visibility in the valley is also affected by the haze, dropping to between two to three kilometres. On haze-free days, visibility is usually up to10km.

Manjung, in northern Perak, is the other location that has fallen under the 'unhealthy' category, while 43 other spots in the country have been categorised as 'moderate'.

Meanwhile, the northern peninsular region, including Seberang Perai, has shown improvement in air quality from 'unhealthy' in the past few days, to 'moderate' today.

Contacted later, DOE air quality division director Che Asmah Ibrahim said the Sumateran-caused haze is expected to be a recurring problem, especially given dry conditions in the region.

"It is a result of trans-boundary pollutants and poor dispersion of pollutants domestically, which comes as a result of very dry weather," she added.

South-westerly monsoon winds blowing from the direction of Sumatera are said to be the cause of the haze currently experienced on the western coast of the peninsular.

According to DOE, 'hotspots' or burning areas in Sumatera has grown from 84 locations on Sunday, to 254 yesterday.

"We are asking that the Malaysian public not generate more pollution that will add to the haze problem," she said.

Not releasing API

Despite the persistence of the haze, DOE has no plans to release precise figures of the API.

Che Asmah said API figures, if publicised, would only serve to confuse the public.

"Instead, we prefer to release the information in terms of 'air quality status', which we feel is more meaningful for the public," she added.

However, she said precise API figures can be made available to researchers, if warranted.

DOE currently defines air quality along five broad categories: 'good', 'moderate', 'unhealthy', 'very unhealthy' and 'hazardous'.

An API index of between 0 to 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'moderate', 101 to 200 'unhealthy', 201 to 300 'very unhealthy' and above 300 'hazardous'.

In June 2002, Asean governments signed an agreement to tackle the trans-boundary haze problem, promising to do all that is possible within their respective countries, to prevent the occurrence of air pollution such as forest fires. The agreement came into effect last November.