The air quality continued to deteriorate in the peninsular today after a brief respite over the weekend.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) for Negeri Sembilan's Nilai - located near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport - was close to the 'very unhealthy' level this morning.

As of 11am, the API reading for Nilai was at 194, said a Department of Environment (DOE) spokesperson when contacted.

He said that the DOE's website , which provides daily API readings taken at 11am and 5pm, has been experiencing high traffic congestion over the past few days.

API readings between 101-200 is considered 'unhealthy' while those between 201-300 is 'very unhealthy'. Between 0-50 is 'good' and 51-100 'moderate'.

In total, 14 areas were declared 'unhealthy' this morning while 30 were 'moderate' and seven 'good'.

But after a cloud-seeding induced shower this afternoon, there has been a slight drop in the API readings.

Nilai still registered the highest reading in air pollution with 173 as of 5pm.

The number of 'unhealthy' areas dropped marginally from 14 to 13, but 'moderate' areas increased from 30 to 33, while 'good' areas dropped from seven to four.

In the 'unhealthy' category were Perak's Seri Manjung (183 at 11am to 163 at 5pm), Kuala Selangor (181 to 165), Seremban (181 to 158), Putrajaya (171 to 156), Kuala Lumpur (159 to 155), Kajang (158 to 145), Shah Alam (145 to 140), Petaling Jaya (139 to 132), Port Klang (131 to 121), Malacca's Bukit Rambai (131 to 110), Gombak (127 to 128), Ipoh (113 to 105) and Malacca town (110 to 86).

Sarawak, which was worst hit by the haze last week with several areas seeing their API readings exceed 200, was no longer in the 'unhealthy' zone today.

Closing of schools

Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said headmasters can use their discretion to close their schools if the API exceeded 300.

He also said schools should not allow students to take part in outdoor activities if the API was above 200.

According to the Meteorological Services Department, south-easterly winds brought the choking smoke from fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The Malaysian government has called on Indonesia to ratify the Asean regional haze action plan while Natural Resources and Environment Minister Azmi Khalid said it was unclear why Indonesia had dragged its feet on ratifying the plan.

"Only when Indonesia ratifies the agreement can member countries set up a centre so that prevention and extinguishing of fires can be done easily," he was reported as saying.

However, opposition parties and concerned groups have urged the Malaysian government to take a stronger stand in pushing Indonesia to ratify the plan.

They said the Malaysian government's failure to do so signified the government's failure in protecting its citizens' health.

Limit vehicles

In a related development, PAS' Mahfuz Omar urged the Malaysian government to assert more pressure on Indonesia to ratify the haze action plan.

"Don't just point the finger at Indonesia, we should send our delegation there, hold bilateral talks, lobby and pressure them to sign the plan," he said.

Mahfuz, who chairs the party's consumers and environment bureau, also called on the government to outline an action plan in dealing with the haze.

"The government should limit the vehicles on the road and ask the public to use public transport because more vehicles on the road will worsen the haze situation," he said, adding that the efficiency of public transportation should be enhanced first.