Smoke from Indonesia: Malaysia shuts schools for some two million children
Indonesia is suffering its worst fire season in over a decade. Smoke is blanketing Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, where the air is rated “very unhealthy”.
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Because of thick smoke from Indonesia, Malaysia on Friday closed schools in Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya and six states. Some two million students are affected, according to Al Jazeera. The government's air pollutant index in Kuala Lumpur stood at around 170; readings above 100 are considered unhealthy. In Singapore, air quality also fell into the “very unhealthy” range, according to the monitoring service IQAir.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called the situation “worrying”. He said he had spoken with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who agreed to take “the necessary steps”. Malaysia is seeking an urgent meeting of ASEAN environment ministers and stepping up cloud seeding to trigger rain. King Sultan Ibrahim urged that schools close when the index reaches 150.
In Indonesia, forests and peatlands have been burning for weeks in six provinces, affecting at least 200,000 hectares. It is the worst fire season in more than a decade, Indonesia had warned in August that El Niño conditions threatened more fires. Indonesia's health ministry has already recorded more than 170,000 respiratory infections. Organisers of this weekend's Formula One race in Singapore say it will go ahead.