Malaysia closes some schools over haze from Indonesian fires — Deutsche Welle

Authorities in Malaysia have closed some schools in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and other parts of the country because of smog caused by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia. On Friday, the air pollution index in Kuala Lumpur stood at 170 points.

As Deutsche Welle reports, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek instructed state education departments and district offices to monitor the situation and respond promptly if necessary. She announced which institutions would close completely and which would operate partially in five states and two federal territories.

Air pollution level

According to the Swiss air quality monitoring service IQAir, the air in Kuala Lumpur remains at an unhealthy level. The service ranked the Malaysian capital second among the world’s most polluted cities, after neighboring Singapore.

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Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim said schools should be closed when the air pollution index reaches 150 points or higher. Readings above 200 are considered very unhealthy, above 300 hazardous, while exceeding 500 is the threshold for declaring a local emergency.

Fires in Indonesia

Kuala Lumpur is located about 1,200 kilometers from Indonesia, where a wave of forest fires has affected millions of people since August. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to take measures to combat the smog, but provided no details.