Malaysia Holds at 38 Unhealthy Areas as Klang Valley Nears 'Very Unhealthy'; Singapore Air Improves

Malaysia's nationwide haze held near its recent peak on Sept. 16, with 38 areas in Peninsular Malaysia recording unhealthy API readings as of 5pm, several in the Klang Valley nearing the 'very unhealthy' (201+) threshold: Johan Setia 183, Cheras 174, Shah Alam and Putrajaya/Nilai both 170, Seremban 165, Petaling Jaya 164. In Johor, Tangkak (134), Kluang (124) and Batu Pahat (103) stayed unhealthy. A further 21 areas nationwide, including stations in Sarawak and Sabah, registered moderate readings. Singapore's air quality improved for a second day after Sept. 15's historic islandwide unhealthy reading: NEA's 24-hour PSI was moderate across all regions by 11am and stood at 71-89 by 5pm (Central highest at 89), as overnight showers over Kalimantan continued to clear some haze; the agency forecast the PSI would stay in the 'moderate to low-unhealthy' range, with dry conditions persisting over Sumatra and Kalimantan and southeast/southerly winds keeping some haze risk alive.