Kuching Officially Rated Most Polluted City in The World

I‘ve seen hazier days. Both literally and figuratively.

For real though, it doesn’t seem like the haze is going to let up soon and I’m sure we’re all aboard the complain-train when it comes to the recent air quality.

But stop to think about how bad Malaysia has it?

Our neighbour country is arguably closer to Indonesia, the source of the haze, compared to us. One can only imagine how bad it gets there.

But man, I didn’t expect it to get “most polluted” bad.

Most Polluted City Worldwide

Kuching is known for two things in my opinion: amazing food and being one of the cleanest cities in all of Asia.

It’s a shame that this is what it’s come to.

I’m kind of unsure if this is really Kuching (it is), or a scene straight out of the game Silent Hill.

The (dis)honour of having the title was granted to the city on 15 September, when its air quality reading maxed out at 202 on the US Air Quality Index (AQI).

202 is not hazardous, but counts within the very unhealthy range.

As of 17 September, these are the following top stats for air pollution.

Malaysia, in general, remains in the top spots while Singapore barely trails behind, a pretty scary sight honestly.

While Kuching might be the prime area for haze, other cities in Sarawak should be on alert as well.

Samarahan was estimated to have reached 201 on the Air Pollutant Index of Malaysia (API) at worst on 17 September. Sri Aman fared no better at 214 API.

If you notice the numbers, while it does get better as the day progresses, everything remains at the high 100 range or a low 200 range.

Not exactly the ideal weather where you want to go on a jog.

If anyone is visiting Kuching during these troubled days, do remember to wear a mask when you go out. The last thing anyone wants is to get sick!

Even if you’re just in not-so-sunny Singapore, carry a mask around with you just in case. Haze conditions get super unpredictable these days.