Stay indoors or wear N95 masks if going out, Serian residents told

Residents of Serian, Sarawak, have been instructed to remain indoors or, if venturing outside, to wear appropriate face masks like N95 respirators to minimize exposure to the smoky air haze, according to local authorities. The state of emergency was declared by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, due to hazardous air pollution levels in the region.

The Asean haze monitoring centre reported that many stations in Borneo, including some in Sumatra, Singapore, and southern Peninsular Malaysia, are recording unhealthy to hazardous levels of air quality. The deputy premier of Sarawak, Douglas Uggah Embas, who leads the state's disaster management committee, emphasized that people should follow official directives on permissible activities and premises during the emergency period.

Educational institutions in Serian may close for five days starting September 7 as part of the emergency measures. The smoke haze is believed to have drifted northeast from Kalimantan into parts of Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei, with moderate to dense smoke plumes also observed in North and East Kalimantan, central and southern Sumatra, Singapore, and southern Peninsular Malaysia.