Malaysia’s Sarawak shuts almost 600 schools as haze hits ‘very unhealthy’ level
Transboundary haze has again disrupted daily life on Malaysian Borneo, forcing nearly 600 schools in Sarawak to shut on Friday as air pollution in parts of the state reached “very unhealthy” levels. The closures affecting almost 200,000 pupils were the latest disruptions caused by Southeast Asia’s persistent haze problem, which flares during dry spells when forest and peatland fires – often…
The Department of Environment in Sarawak reported on August 21 that nine areas within the state had unhealthy air quality, with the city of Serian registering a particularly hazardous index of 227, classified as "very unhealthy." Deputy Director-General (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon detailed the readings, which ranged from 130 in Kapit and Mukah to the highest reading of 187 in Sri Aman.
She attributed the decline in air quality nationwide to the spread of haze originating from various directions, including Kalimantan and Sumatra. The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre's recent report identified 288 hotspots in Kalimantan, 53 in Sumatra, and two in Malaysia, including one each in Sarawak and Terengganu. The Regional Haze Map, also released by the ASMC, indicated ongoing dry conditions across most of southern ASEAN, with the exception of northeastern Borneo and northern Sumatra, which had recently experienced rainfall.
Hotspots were particularly dense in West Kalimantan and were moving northwards into western Sarawak. Azuri noted that the Department of Environment had intensified enforcement measures and daily patrols in regions prone to open burning, alongside continuous monitoring of air quality indexes. The National Open Burning Action Plan and the National Haze Action Plan were activated to coordinate responses among government agencies.
The public was warned against engaging in open burning and advised to report any incidents to the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia at 999 or directly to the Department of Environment at 1-800-88-2727.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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