Cheras showed an unhealthy level of 163 as of 10am, followed by Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam (156) and Putrajaya (155). Batu Muda (Klang) and Banting in Selangor reached a reading of 152.

The other states in the unhealthy category are Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.

In Negeri Sembilan, Nilai recorded a reading of 163, followed by Seremban (158) and Port Dickson (156). In Melaka, Alor Gajah and Bukit Rambai recorded readings of 139 and 153, respectively.

Taiping recorded an API of 144, whereas Seberang Jaya was hovering above the 100-mark.

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

Malaysia is suffering from haze because of forest fires in southern Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Department of environment director-general Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said the forest fires caused transboundary haze to affect the west coast of the peninsula as well as the western part of Sarawak.

“Satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration detected 52 hotspots in Sumatra, 264 hotspots in Kalimantan, and no hotspots detected within (Malaysia),” he said in a statement.

He said dry weather conditions are expected to continue in central and southern Sumatra as well as southern Kalimantan, with wind blowing the haze north-westward.