SAMALAJU in Sarawak was the only area in Malaysia to record unhealthy air quality at 7am today, with an air pollution index (API) reading of 151, as Indonesia continued battling fires across thousands of hectares of forest and plantation land.
Data from the Environment Department's Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) showed that 42 other monitoring stations recorded moderate air quality, including Bintulu, Serian, Sibu, Batu Muda, Kluang and Kuching.
Another 25 stations recorded good air quality, including Port Dickson, Limbang, Melaka City, Tanah Merah and Kemaman.
An API reading of zero to 50 indicates good air quality, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, and above 300 hazardous.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said firefighting operations were continuing across 4,382 hectares of affected land in six regions of Kalimantan and Sumatra as of Sunday (Oct 25).
BNPB acting head of its Data, Information and Disaster Communication Centre Berton Panjaitan said fires were still being tackled across 3,392 hectares in three regions of Kalimantan and 990 hectares in three regions of Sumatra.
He said the central and regional governments were continuing various response measures with volunteer assistance, including weather modification operations using dry ice.
Central Kalimantan recorded the largest affected area at 2,458 hectares, followed by West Kalimantan with 884 hectares and South Kalimantan with 52 hectares.
In Sumatra, South Sumatra accounted for about 889 hectares, followed by Jambi with 89 hectares and Lampung with 12 hectares, including areas within Way Kambas National Park. No active firefighting operations were reported in Riau.
Berton said 57,050 ground personnel and 61 aircraft had been mobilised to support firefighting operations across the six regions.
The aerial fleet comprised 37 helicopters conducting water-bombing operations and 24 aircraft used for patrols, cloud seeding and other support activities.
Firefighting efforts were also continuing in the Arjuno-Welirang mountain area in East Java, where fires had affected about 1,090 hectares since Oct 16. Eleven fire sites were detected in the Bumiaji area as of early Sunday. - October 27, 2026
