HUNDREDS of schools across Selangor and Putrajaya will be closed tomorrow after the poor air quality in these areas showed no signs of improvement, the Education Ministry said today.

The Selangor Education Department announced the closure of 138 schools, affecting 180,000 students in Sepang, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Klang and Petaling Perdana.

The department based its decision on the air quality at these areas as of 8pm today, with those areas having showed little or no improvement throughout the day.

“Any new developments will be posted from time to time,” the department said in a statement.

“Schools are reminded to follow standard operating procedures in place and prioritise the wellbeing of the student and the teacher at all times,” the department added.

This comes on the heels of the closure of all 25 schools in Putrajaya, after the air quality in the area continued to be at very unhealthy levels, the Putrajaya Education Department said today.

“All schools in Putrajaya will be closed tomorrow on September 17, 2019, after the reading on the air pollutant index (API) started rising beyond 200, after 5pm today,” it said in a statement today.

The API reading at 7pm today was 205. A reading of 0-50 is good, 51-100 is moderate, 101-200 is unhealthy, 201-300 is very unhealthy, and 300 and above is hazardous.

There are about 25 schools around the administrative capital, 15 of which primary schools.

Putrajaya is one of the four areas that also reported poor air quality from early morning, throughout the day.

Sri Aman (207), Kuching (206) and Johan Setia (229) joined Putrajaya in its “very unhealthy” status.

The air quality in Samarahan, which reported very unhealthy air this morning, saw slight improvement with a reading of 190 this afternoon.

Meanwhile, 29 areas reported unhealthy air, whereas another 29 were moderate. Six areas reported good air quality.

Cloud seeding was carried out this afternoon by Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), in conjunction with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and the National Disaster Management Agency in Selangor, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan.

Meanwhile, all schools and kindergartens in Johor will function as usual tomorrow, following an improvement in air quality in the state.

“API readings at 9pm showed an improvement in all areas in Johor, and below the 200 mark as they were yesterday and today,” said Johor education director Azman Adnan in a statement.

Schools in Johor were forced to shut down due to worsening levels of smoke on Saturday. – September 16, 2019.