Malaysia closes schools in six places as Indonesian fire haze pushes air quality to unhealthy levels

Schools closed across six areas

Malaysia's Education Ministry closed schools on Friday in several states and in its federal and administrative capitals, after smoke from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said she had ordered full closures in four states and two federal territories, along with a partial closure in the central state of Pahang. Europa Press listed Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, plus Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, and said only the Rompin district of Pahang was affected there. Bloomberg reported that more than 2 million students were kept at home. Selangor also postponed National Sports Day celebrations planned for Saturday because the haze had worsened.

Fadhlina said late on Thursday:

In the future, we will ensure that any decision to close schools is notified in advance so that parents have sufficient time to prepare.

Air quality and the closure threshold

Malaysian guidelines classify Air Pollutant Index readings above 100 as unhealthy, above 200 as very unhealthy, above 300 as hazardous, and beyond 500 as the threshold for declaring a local emergency. King Sultan Ibrahim said on Thursday that schools should be closed when readings reached 150 or higher. Kuala Lumpur showed a reading of around 170 on Friday, and IQAir said the capital was the second-most polluted city in the world that morning, behind Singapore. Figures from The Star, relayed by Europa Press from the APIMS monitoring system, counted 38 areas with unhealthy readings on Friday, up from 36 on Thursday afternoon. Negeri Sembilan recorded the highest reading nationally at 186. Johor had the most unhealthy areas with eight, followed by Selangor with six, Perak with five and Pahang with four.

Leaders and regional response

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday that he had discussed the fire situation with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Anwar said:

The haze issue is indeed at a worrying level. And I have personally contacted President Prabowo.

Anwar said Prabowo had agreed to take the necessary steps, without giving specific details. Malaysia has been trying to trigger rain through cloud seeding, Anwar said. He asked Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan to contact the secretariat of the 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations to arrange an urgent meeting of environment ministers. Malaysia is ready to offer assistance to Indonesia, according to Rai.

Causes and health toll

The fires have burned in peatland and forest areas for more than a month, and AFP reported that the toxic smoke has shrouded cities in the region for that period. BBC describes illegal slash-and-burn practices used by farmers and companies to clear vegetation as the main cause of this year's fire season. Experts quoted by AFP said the flames are being fanned by a turbo-charged El Nino weather phenomenon, while BBC cites experts who say a so called 'super' El Nino has worsened drought in parts of Indonesia. Indonesia's Health Ministry recorded over 50,000 cases of respiratory infections linked to land and forest fires between July and August. BBC reports that the smoke has reached Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Singapore and the Grand Prix

Singapore has experienced days of 'unhealthy' air. IQAir data showed a value of 205 for Singapore at 8:00 local time on Friday, which falls in the very unhealthy band. The haze could bring restrictions on entertainment and other outdoor activities during this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix, but the FIA said on Thursday that the race itself will not be affected. BBC reports that Singapore is proceeding with the event over the next three days.