Serian: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, on Friday consented to the declaration of an emergency in the Serian Division after worsening haze pushed air pollution to hazardous levels. The emergency declaration was lifted yesterday. According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal reported that three areas in Sarawak recorded very unhealthy air quality this morning, namely Kuching with an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 243, Samarahan at 237, and Sri Aman at 232. Unhealthy air quality was also recorded in several other areas in Sarawak this morning. The API readings included Mukah at 184, Sarikei at 183, Samalaju at 178, Bintulu at 170, Miri Industrial Training Institute (ILP) at 169, Miri at 169, and Sibu at 166. In Selangor, Johan Setia recorded the highest API reading at 168. Other areas such as Shah Alam, Banting, Klang, Petaling Jaya, and Kuala Selangor also reported unhealthy air quality with API readings of 165, 159, 156, 154, and 152, respectively. Perak also saw unhealthy air quality in Tasek Ipoh at 162, Seri Manjung at 159, Tanjung Malim at 156, and Pegoh Ipoh at 152. Additional areas with unhealthy readings included Batu Muda at 157, Cheras at 154 in the federal capital, and Putrajaya at 155. Further, in Negeri Sembilan, Nilai recorded an API of 157 and Seremban at 153. Melaka saw Bukit Rambai at 149 and Alor Gajah at 144, while Labuan recorded 128 and Segamat, Johor at 106. A total of 37 areas nationwide recorded moderate air quality, while two areas recorded good air quality. An API reading of 0 to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above, hazardous./CT#