KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 24 -- Air quality deteriorated further this afternoon, with 23 monitoring stations recording unhealthy readings on the Air Pollutant Index (API) at 4.00pm, up from 21 in the morning, according to the Department of Environment (DOE).

Of the 68 stations nationwide, 23 registered readings in the unhealthy range of 101 to 200, while 39 recorded moderate air quality and six remained in the good tier. No station entered very unhealthy or hazardous territory.

Seremban in Negeri Sembilan logged the worst air quality in the country at 172, up from 169 at 10.00am. Elsewhere in the state, Nilai recorded 166, while Port Dickson improved to 140. Melaka saw all three of its monitoring stations remain in the unhealthy tier, led by B...