Severe Haze from Indonesian Fires Forces School Closures Across Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur's skyline was shrouded in haze from regional wildfires on Friday, prompting Malaysia to close schools in its capital and several states as smoke from Indonesian forest fires pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels.

Schools were ordered to close on Friday across Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya, and in the states of Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, and Selangor. The move affected roughly two million students as Kuala Lumpur recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of about 170. The API is a government-run measure of air quality.

Meanwhile, Singapore, located at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, saw its air quality drop into the “very unhealthy” range, according to IQAir.

“The haze issue is indeed at a worrying level,” stated Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He added that he had spoken to Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, who agreed to take “the necessary steps,” though he offered no details on what those measures might entail. Anwar also mentioned that he asked Malaysia’s minister of foreign affairs to push for an urgent meeting of ASEAN environment ministers, while Kuala Lumpur steps up cloud seeding to trigger rain.

“Appropriate measures must be taken by the relevant ministries and agencies to protect schoolchildren and students, including senior citizens and patients with respiratory illnesses,” declared King Sultan Ibrahim, who specified that schools should close when API readings hit 150 or higher. Under Malaysian guidelines, API readings above 100 are classified as unhealthy, above 200 as very unhealthy, above 300 as hazardous, and readings beyond 500 trigger a local emergency.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek promised parents more advance notice for future closures. Previously in August, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for political and security affairs warned that El Nino conditions threatened more fires during the dry season. A month later, smoke blanketed the region during the country's worst fire season in over a decade. Al Jazeera’s reporter Jessica Washington noted that fires have burned across six provinces, scorching at least 200,000 hectares. Furthermore, Indonesia’s Ministry of Health recorded more than 170,000 respiratory infections, though the actual figure is likely higher since it only includes those who sought healthcare.

The hazardous haze has also raised concerns for organizers of Singapore’s Formula One weekend, scheduled from Friday to Sunday. Despite the conditions, organizers insisted the race will proceed as planned with masks and extra medics, stating the situation is “not a threat.”