Kuala Lumpur and Singapore record high AQI levels as haze lingers

A milky haze has covered Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for more than a month, with the Swiss monitoring service IQAir reporting an AQI of 166 for Kuala Lumpur and 155 for Singapore, ranking them among the world’s most polluted major cities. In Malaysia, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre identified smoke from forest fires in southern Sumatra as a major contributor to haze over Johor and nearby regions, noting moderate to dense plumes moving toward Singapore.

Rainfall in Johor provided a short‑term dip in pollution, yet four of eight monitoring stations still posted unhealthy API readings, the highest being 165 at Kota Tinggi. Dr. Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip warned that the haze is likely to continue while fires burn in Sumatra and Kalimantan.