KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 13 -- Air quality across Malaysia showed modest improvement this morning, with 20 of the country's 68 monitoring stations recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 10.40am, down from 23 stations reported yesterday afternoon.

According to Department of Environment (DOE) surveillance data, 44 stations recorded moderate air quality, four registered good levels, and none breached the very unhealthy or hazardous thresholds. Readings between 101 and 200 fall within the unhealthy classification.

Johor continued to bear the brunt of the transboundary smoke, accounting for eight of the nation's unhealthy monitoring stations.

Pasir Gudang logged the highest reading nationwide at 181, climbing from 174 yester...