Malaysia closes schools as Indonesian fires create toxic haze
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 14:13 · Archive
Malaysian authorities have closed schools across the capital and five states due to toxic smoke from Indonesian forest fires pushing air pollution to unhealthy levels.
Malaysian authorities closed schools across Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and in the states of Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor on Friday due to toxic smoke from Indonesian forest fires. The closures affected roughly two million students. Kuala Lumpur recorded an Air Pollutant Index reading of 170, classified as unhealthy, with the city ranking as the world's second most polluted at the time.
Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim declared that schools should close whenever Air Pollutant Index readings reach 150 or higher. Under Malaysian guidelines, readings above 100 are unhealthy, above 200 very unhealthy, above 300 hazardous, and above 500 constitute a threshold for declaring a local emergency.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had spoken to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who agreed to take 'the necessary steps' to tackle the haze, though he provided no details. Malaysia is stepping up cloud seeding to trigger rain and has asked for an urgent meeting of ASEAN environment ministers. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek promised parents more advance notice of future school closures.
How it is being reported
- Malaysia shuts schools as haze from Indonesian fires chokes Southeast AsiaKuala Lumpur's Air Pollutant Index says air quality at unhealthy levels amid smog from forest fires.Al Jazeera · 9 Oct, 13:53
- Malaysia shuts schools amid toxic haze from Indonesian firesToxic smoke from forest fires in Indonesia has pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels, prompting authorities in Malaysia to take emergency measures.DW News · 9 Oct, 07:39
In this story: Malaysia · Indonesia · Kuala Lumpur · Anwar Ibrahim · Prabowo Subianto · Fadhlina Sidek · Sultan Ibrahim
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem
Comments (0)