Air quality in the country as at 8 am today ranged from moderate to good, according to the Department of Environment (DOE).

The DOE website reported that moderate Air Pollutant Index (API) readings were recorded in 21 places and good API readings in 31.

Among the places with the moderate reading were Alor Setar (with an API of 56) and Bakar Arang (Sungai Petani) (63) in Kedah; Historical City of Malacca (52); Nilai (63) in Negri Sembilan; Balok Baru (Kuantan) (52) in Pahang; Seri Manjung (67) in Perak; Perai (61) in Penang and Banting (63), Port Klang (65) and Kuala Selangor (70) in Selangor.

The places with a good API reading included Kota Tinggi (33) and Pasir Gudang (43) in Johor; Langkawi (28) in Kedah and Seremban (44).

An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; between 51 and 100, moderate; between 101 and 200, unhealthy; between 201 and 300, very unhealthy and over 301, hazardous.

The public can find out the API readings for their areas from the DOE portal at http://www.doe.gov.my .

- Bernama