The Government of Malaysia has decided this Friday to suspend classes in four states of the country and in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, due to the strong air pollution generated by the smoke from the forest fires burning in Indonesia.
The Minister of Education, Fadhlina Sidek, has disseminated a statement through her social networks informing about the closure of all educational centers in four states in the south and southeast of the country: Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor, in addition to the federal territories of Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. In the state of Pahang, the measure only affects the schools in the district of Rompin.
The Ministry has indicated that it will continue to closely monitor the values of the Air Quality Index (AQI, for its acronym in English) and that it will maintain close coordination with the federal authorities to decide on new actions.
In parallel, the state of Selangor has decided to postpone the celebrations of National Sports Day scheduled for this Saturday due to the worsening of the haze situation in the region.
The haze remains widespread across much of Malaysian territory, with 38 areas recording unhealthy levels in the Atmospheric Pollution Index (API) this Friday, compared to the 36 counted on Thursday afternoon, according to data from the Atmospheric Pollution Index Management System (APIMS), collected by the Malaysian newspaper "The Star".
API measurements between zero and 50 reflect good air quality, from 51 to 100 moderate, from 101 to 200 unhealthy, from 201 to 300 very unhealthy, while values above 300 are considered dangerous.
In Negeri Sembilan, the highest figure at the national level has been recorded this Friday, with 186. Johor concentrates the largest number of areas with unhealthy air, with eight, followed by Selangor with six, Perak with five, and Pahang with four.