Schools in several states will close on Monday (Oct 19) due to the worsening haze

Haze forces schools to close again

BY ADRIAN CHAN

PETALING JAYA: Schools in several states will close on Monday (Oct 19) due to the worsening haze, according to the Education Minister. 

Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid announced that the affected schools are in Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur as well as Kuching and Samarahan in Sarawak, and Tawau in Sabah.

He posted the announcement on his Facebook page as well as on his Twitter account.

On Sunday, the Air Pollutant Index reading in these areas exceeded 120 at 7pm.

Mahdzir, however, said that the Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and Kolej Vokasional examinations would continue under Ops Topeng.

He added that the ministry would issue a statement soon.

This is the fourth time this year that the Education Ministry ordered a shut down of schools due to the haze.

An API of between 0 to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy), 301 and above (hazardous)

 

PETALING JAYA: After several days of good air quality, Malaysians in seven areas woke up to the smell of smog as Air Pollutant Index (API) readings breached the unhealthy level at 8am Sunday.

Malacca City recorded an API of 109, followed by Bukit Rambai (102), Banting (106) and Port Klang (107). In Sarawak, the areas with unhealthy API are Tawau (106), Kuching (102) and Samarahan (111).

An API reading of between 101 to 200 is considered unhealthy.

Meanwhile, 32 areas recorded moderate API readings including Port Dickson, Nilai and Putrajaya at 95.