KUALA LUMPUR: The haze caused a drastic drop in air quality in at least four west coast states yesterday.
It forced the closure of several schools in Perak and prompted
advice for donning of masks outdoors.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor ranged from moderate to very unhealthy level, according to the portal of the Department of Environment (DoE).
In Ipoh, Perak education director Mohd Idris Ramli said six primary and nine secondary schools in the Manjung coastal district, with an enrolment of 5,945, were ordered to close their afternoon sessions.
As at 6 pm, the API in Manjung was at the ‘very unhealthy’ level of 260.
An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; between 51 and 100, moderate; between 101 and 200, unhealthy; between 201 and 300, very unhealthy, and over 301, hazardous.
Today’s morning session at the schools would be cancelled if the API remained above 200, said Mohd Idris.
He named the affected primary schools as Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Seri Manjung, SK Kampung Dato Seri Kamarudin, SK Methodist (ACS), SK Methodist, SK Convent and SK Simpang Empat.
The secondary schools are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan
(SMK) Seri Manjung, SMK Ahmad Boestamam, SMK Seri Samudera, SMK Nan Hwa, SMK Methodist,
SMK Methodist (ACS), SMK Tok Perdana, SMK Ambrose and SMK Dato Idris.
The API for Kampung Air Putih in Taiping was 131 and SK Jalan Pegoh in Ipoh was at 117 at 6pm.
In George Town, the API at an unhealthy level was recorded in several areas, according to Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin.
He said the API in Prai reached 102, Seberang Jaya, 114 and Universiti Sains Malaysia was at 101 at noon.
“The people are advised to wear masks when outdoors and reduce any activity that can expose them to
the unhealthy air,” he said in a statement.
He also advised road users to take extra precautions when driving through hazy areas.
In Selangor, the DoE portal reported the API for Kuala Selangor and Port Klang at 119 and 111, respectively, at 6pm.
In Kedah, the API reading for Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani, was 100 at 6pm.
In Perlis, the reading in Kangar was 72 at 6pm. Bernama