Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Malaysia has ordered the closure of schools in Kuala Lumpur and several states as haze from Indonesian forest fires pushes air pollution to unhealthy levels across parts of Southeast Asia.
The closures, announced for Friday, affected Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya, and the states of Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor, impacting approximately two million students.
Kuala Lumpur recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of around 170, indicating unhealthy air quality. Meanwhile, Singapore’s air quality deteriorated to the “very unhealthy” category, according to IQAir.
“The haze issue is indeed at a worrying level,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, adding that he had spoken with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who agreed to take the necessary steps to address the situation.
Anwar did not provide further details of Indonesia’s planned response. He said he had asked Malaysia’s foreign minister to push for an urgent meeting of ASEAN environment ministers. Malaysia is also stepping up cloud-seeding operations to encourage rainfall and help disperse the haze.
Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim, called for measures to protect schoolchildren, older people and patients with respiratory illnesses. He said schools should close when API readings reach 150 or above.
Under Malaysian guidelines, API readings above 100 are classified as unhealthy, above 200 as very unhealthy and above 300 as hazardous. Readings exceeding 500 can trigger the declaration of a local emergency.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek pledged to give parents more advance notice of school closures in the future.
The haze comes amid a severe fire season in Indonesia. In August, the country’s coordinating minister for political and security affairs warned that El Niño conditions could increase the risk of fires during the dry season. By the following month, smoke had begun spreading across the region, marking Indonesia’s worst fire season in more than a decade, according to reports.
Fires have burned across six Indonesian provinces, scorching at least 200,000 hectares, Al Jazeera reported.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has recorded more than 170,000 respiratory infections, although the actual number is likely higher because the figures cover only people who sought medical care, Al Jazeera correspondent Jessica Washington reported.
The worsening haze has also raised concerns ahead of Singapore’s Formula One Grand Prix weekend, scheduled to run from Friday through Sunday. Organisers have said the race will proceed, with masks and additional medical personnel available, while maintaining that the haze does not pose a threat to the event.
The crisis has renewed concerns over the cross-border impact of forest fires and the need for stronger regional cooperation to address recurring haze pollution across Southeast Asia.
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