SCHOOLS are closed in Port Dickson today due to the air quality reaching very unhealthy levels in the coastal town in Negri Sembilan.

The air pollutant index (API) reads 211 in town as of 9am, the result of thick smoke from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia.

This forced the state Education Department to order all 63 schools in the district to close today, leaving 22,877 pupils with the day off.

Nilai, one of the other two stations in the state, is also experiencing very unhealthy air with the API at 203, while Seremban’s air quality is 176.

Other areas with APIs in the very unhealthy range are Johan Setia in Selangor and Kuching (Sarawak).

In Sri Aman, the API has been red for hazardous since 3am. The air quality is worsening by the hour and reads 367 as of 9am.

Schools are under orders to suspend classes once the API breaches the 200 mark, which denotes very unhealthy air.

Yesterday 163 schools in Putrajaya and Selangor were closed, affecting 180,000 children in Sepang, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Klang and Petaling Perdana.   

In Johor, Pahang and Malacca, the air is unhealthy across the board. Except for Sri Aman and Kuching, the API in Sarawak is also in the unhealthy range all around.

The air quality is moderate in the rest of Malaysia except for Kangar in Perlis and Langkawi and Alor Setar in Kedah, which show up as rare green spots on the map indicating healthy air.

A reading of 0-50 is good, 51-100 moderate, 101-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy, and 300 and above hazardous. – September 17, 2019.