The Selangor government has ordered all outdoor activities involving its departments and agencies postponed or cancelled.

Selangor executive council (exco) member Dr Daroyah Alwi said the decision was made at the exco meeting today, in view of health concerns caused by the haze.

“For now, no outdoor activities can be conducted, especially during the weekend (Oct 24 and 25). The decision is made for the welfare of the people in the state, and a circular will be distributed tomorrow.

“According to the Meteorological Department, the haze is expected to continue until Oct 27 because of continued open burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and the lack of strong winds that can push the haze away.

“Such hazy conditions are very dangerous to children, senior citizens, and those with chronic illnesses,” she Daroyah said in a statement today.

She urged parents not to allow their children to play outside, adding that people should also ensure they have adequate rest and drink lots of water.

All five of the Department of Environment’s air pollution monitoring stations in Selangor registered unhealthy air quality as of 10am today, ranging from an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 112 in Petaling Jaya to 157 in Port Klang.

These readings are better than yesterday, where API readings in Selangor ranged from 152 to 233, with two out of five areas registering ‘very unhealthy’ air quality.

Flights cancelled

However, air quality in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia worsened substantially today, forcing flights at Alor Setar and Penang airports to be delayed or cancelled.

The air quality in Sebarang Jaya is the worst in the country, with an API reading of 280.

Overall, there are six areas that have registered ‘very unhealthy’ air quality, all of which are in the northern part of the country.

Apart from Seberang Jaya, these areas are Bakar Arang (252), Kangar (247), Langkawi (242), Universiti Sains Malaysia (Gelugor) (244) and Alor Setar (236).

There are 27 areas throughout the country with ‘unhealthy’ air quality and 17 with ‘moderate’ air quality.

The only place in the country found to have healthy air quality is Labuan, with an API of 45.

‘Very unhealthy’ areas are those with an API of between 201 and 300, whereas ‘unhealthy’ areas are those with an API of between 101 and 200 and ‘moderate’ areas are those with API readings of between 51 and 100.

API readings below 50 are considered ‘healthy’.