Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) on Tuesday said that 531 schools had been ordered to close as air quality continued to deteriorate in several Malaysian states.
NADMA said other places that were shut down include the west coast of Peninsular, Malaysia’s states of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, the Federal Territory of Putrajaya as well as Sarawak state on North Borneo.
According to NADMA the closures affected a total of 363,991 students, with Sarawak state being the worst hit after 298 schools were ordered closed.
The agency added that air quality in Sir Aman district was `hazardous’ posting an Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 397 API, nearly double the benchmark of 200 API for school closures.
According to the country’s air quality rating, an API reading of zero to 50 is `good, 51 to 100 `moderate, 101 to 200 `unhealthy, 201 to 300 `very unhealthy, and 301 and above is `hazardous.
NADMA also advised the public to stay well hydrated, avoid outdoor activities, and wear suitable masks should they have to be outdoors and turn on car headlights should the reading pass 300 API, which would result in poor visibility.
As of 4 p.m. local time, 29 areas recorded `unhealthy’ readings, five recorded `very unhealthy’ air quality, despite cloud seeding operations in three states on Monday in a bid to improve air quality.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment said the haze was triggered by the forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia.
The Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said on Saturday a satellite image detected thick haze from a forest fire in Indonesia spreading into Malacca Strait to Singapore and Malaysia.
