KUCHING: A total of 275 schools in Sarawak were ordered closed today over the ongoing haze.
Despite this, the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), which was scheduled to take place today, went on as planned.
Padawan recorded the highest number of schools forced to close at 96, followed by 79 in Kuching, Betong (44), Sri Aman (41), Serian (13) and Samarahan (2).
On Monday, Kuching and Sri Aman recorded “very unhealthy” air pollutant index (API) readings - exceeding 200 – which prompted the school closures today.
The API reading in Kuching dropped from a “very unhealthy” 215 last night to 167 at 8am today; but nearby Sri Aman’s air remains “very unhealthy”, with an API reading of 202.
According to Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee chief Major Ismail Mahedin, the haze is caused by 426 hotspots in Kalimantan
He added that 12 hotspots were also detected in Sarawak.
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is categorised as good, between 51 and 100 (moderate), between 101 and 200 (unhealthy), between 201 and 300 (very unhealthy) and more than 301 (dangerous).