After thick haze from forest and land fires in neighbouring Indonesia pushed air pollution to hazardous levels, Malaysian authorities declared a state of emergency in the Serian district of Sarawak on Friday.
Air quality monitoring data from Malaysia showed that Serian had an Air Pollutant Index of 515, above the emergency level of 500. The reading came amid smoke from fires in Indonesia’s Kalimantan region drifting over the border into Sarawak, impacting visibility and sparking public health concerns.
The haze has been especially bad in Sarawak, with schools shut in places where the air has been unhealthy. Authorities have also taken steps to help reduce smoke exposure for residents as the fires continue to burn.
The fires in Indonesia have worsened during an extended dry season, with Kalimantan among those regions experiencing large fire activity. Smoke from the fires has blown over parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia.
Malaysia has also started cloud-seeding operations to try to improve conditions and induce rain in the affected areas.
