Muar, Pasir Gudang air quality dangerous, schools closed
The air quality in Muar, Johor has deteriorated to ‘hazardous’ levels due to the haze, according to the Meteorological Department’s website this morning.
The haze has caused the air quality in Muar, Johor, to deteriorate to the ‘hazardous’ level, says this morning's posting on the Department of Environment (DOE) website.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at 7am for Muar was 337 and worsened to 383 by 11am, but there was no data for Muar in its 5pm update. The API for Pasir Gudang as of 5pm was 333.
However, it should be noted that there are only four places in Johor that have air quality monitoring devices. The other three are Larkin Lama, Pasir Gudang and Kota Tinggi.
Readings above 301 are considered ‘hazardous’ and those above 201 are considered ‘very unhealthy’. The website is updated three times a day at 7am, 11am and 5pm.
The Muar and Batu Pahat district education departments have ordered schools to be closed from today’s afternoon session and tomorrow, pending further developments.
Meanwhile, English-language daily The Star quoted Johor education director Mohd Nor A Ghani as saying that morning session lessons would continue, but 200-odd schools in the district were told not to conduct outdoor activities.
Mohd Nor is also reported to have said that a directive has been issued to close schools in event the API reading exceeds 300.
Johor appears to be the worst hit by the annual smog today, with the 7am readings in Kota Tinggi (211) chalking very unhealthy levels, with Pasir Gudang (190) and Larkin Lama (171) close behind.
These readings have worsened slightly to 232, 199, and 181 respectively by 11am, then 291, 333 and 219, respectively by 5pm. Thus far, only Johor has recorded ‘very unhealthy’ air quality levels, or worse.
The smog is being attributed to smoke from forest fires in Sumatra brought in by the south-western monsoon winds.
On June 16, the DOE said satellite data showed 46 hotspots in the neighbouring Indonesian island.
Other areas badly affected by the haze include Klang Valley, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Terengganu.
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