Screengrab from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre shows hotspots and haze conditions on Aug 13, 2026.
KUCHING (Aug 14): A total of nine monitoring stations in Sarawak recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 8am on Friday.
According to the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) Daily Haze Watch, Serian’s API reading remained the highest in the state at 182, followed by 172 in both Kuching and Kota Samarahan, Sri Aman (163), Sarikei (158), Mukah (152), Tebedu (150), Bintulu (142), and Lundu (102).
Other monitoring stations registered moderate API readings ranging between 60 in Bario and 100 in Sibu, just below the unhealthy level.
An API reading of 101 to 200 indicates unhealthy air quality, while readings between 51 and 100 are classified as moderate.
Meanwhile, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) said scattered hotspots were detected in Kalimantan, Indonesia on Thursday.
There was a noticeable drop in the number of hotspots detected in the region at 150 compared to 396 hotspots on Wednesday.
A few hotspots were also detected in Sarawak, particularly in the central and northern parts of the state.
“Moderate smoke haze was observed over the southeastern and the northwestern parts of Kalimantan. Slight to moderate smoke plumes were observed to emit from hotspots detected in other parts of Kalimantan, the southern parts of Sumatra, and the eastern parts of Sarawak,” said the centre.
However, ASMC said the hotspot and haze situation over the southern Asean region could not be fully determined due to extensive cloud cover.
The centre also said in the coming days, the southern Asean region is forecast to remain dry, apart from the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and parts of Borneo where some showers are expected.
It added that hotspots and haze could continue to escalate over fire-prone areas under prolonged dry conditions, with the risk of transboundary haze occurring.
The prevailing winds over the southern Asean region are also expected to blow from the southeast to south.
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