Schools in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of Malaysia were closed on Friday, 9 October, as smoke from forest and peatland fires in neighbouring Indonesia pushed air pollution to dangerous levels. Citing the BBC, Desh Rupantor reports that the haze has hung over cities across South-East Asia for more than a month, with a marked rise in people suffering breathing and other respiratory problems.
Malaysia's education minister Fadhlina Sidek said on Thursday night that she had ordered all schools closed in four states and two federal territories, as well as in part of the central state of Pahang, and that future closures would be announced early so parents can prepare. The king, Sultan Ibrahim, said schools should close when the air pollutant index (API) reaches 150 or more.
Under Malaysia's guidelines an API above 100 is unhealthy, above 200 very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous; above 500 it crosses the threshold for a local emergency. Kuala Lumpur's API was around 170 on Friday.
According to IQAir, the Swiss air quality monitor, Kuala Lumpur's air has been unhealthy all week, and on most days the city has been among the most polluted in the world. On Friday morning it ranked second only to Singapore, where the air quality index (AQI) reached 205, "very unhealthy".
With the haze persisting, concern about public health is growing in Malaysia, Singapore and across the region.
Photo: servus (Flickr) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: Desh Rupantor
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