{
  "id": 12587171,
  "title": "176 Batu Pahat schools shut as haze hits very unhealthy level",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/176-batu-pahat-schools-shut-as-haze-hits-very-unhealthy-level",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T08:40:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/regional/2026/10/1549765/176-batu-pahat-schools-shut-haze-hits-very-unhealthy-level"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On a recent night in Batu Pahat, 176 schools were forced to shut their doors due to hazardous air quality. The district's Air Pollutant Index (API) soared to 203, marking it as a \"very unhealthy\" level. The Johor Education and Information Committee chairman, Dr Muhammad Naqib Md Ghazali, revealed that the affected schools included 144 primary institutions, 31 secondary schools, and one vocational college. Furthermore, another vocational college was also mandated to close. At its peak, the API reading in Batu Pahat stood at 203 at 8pm the previous day, followed by a slight dip to 182 at 2pm, still falling within the unhealthy range.\n\nThis closure marked a day following the Johor Islamic Religious Department's (JAINJ) directive to halt operations at government religious schools and registered private Islamic education institutions in Batu Pahat. A total of 106 government religious schools, encompassing Integrated Religious Primary Schools, and 53 private Islamic education institutions under JAINJ were affected by this closure.",
  "summary": "JOHOR BARU: A total of 176 schools in Batu Pahat were ordered to close today after the district’s Air Pollutant Index (API) hit 203, a very unhealthy level, last night.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Meth-positive lorry driver remanded four days over fatal Batu Pahat crash",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/meth-positive-lorry-driver-remanded-four-days-over-fatal-batu-pahat",
        "published": "2026-10-07T07:19:31.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}