PETALING JAYA: Klang Valley residents had a brief respite from the haze after it rained today.
Coupled with strong winds, the haze which developed into unhealthy levels since Friday appeared to improve albeit slightly.
As at 11am, four areas recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings compared to eight on Saturday.
The Department of Environment recorded unhealthy readings in Kuala Selangor (110), Port Klang (127), Petaling Jaya (102) and Shah Alam (116) with Batu Muda (99) and Cheras (98) close to the unhealthy levels.
In Perak, areas close to the unhealthy range are Jalan Tasek (90), Seri Manjung (96) and Tanjung Malim (95)
Most other areas in the country recorded moderate to good API reading.
The API denotes air quality as good (zero to 50), moderate (51 to 100), unhealthy (101 to 200), very unhealthy (201 to 300) and hazardous (above 301).
The deterioration in air quality in the Klang Valley is reportedly caused by the cross-border haze being blown in from Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Meteorological Services Department has forecast rain in several areas in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
According to Bernama, the DOE reported that Malaysia was experiencing the effects of the southwest monsoon which brings with it hot and dry weather that is expected to prolong up to September.