Haze shrouds Cambodia's capital as air quality deteriorates

Haze shrouds Phnom Penh as air quality reaches "very unhealthy" levels in Cambodia's capital, according to air monitoring company IQAir.

The country's environment ministry on February 1 called on the public to stop burning waste and to prevent forest fires in response to the deteriorating air quality.

The level of PM2.5 pollutants cancer-causing microparticles, small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs, hit 148 micrograms per cubic metre in Phnom Penh, according to IQAir. A reading above 15 in a 24-hour period is considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization (WHO).