KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The recent haze that shrouds part of Malaysia deteriorates throughout the weekend, forcing the government to declare emergency status in some areas.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel said Prime Minister Najib Razak had agreed to declare emergency status in Muar and Ledang areas with immediate effect on Sunday.
The government urged people to stay indoors.
Accoding to the air pollutant index released by the Deparment of Environment, the industrial town of Muar in the southern Johor state reached a staggering reading of 746 early Sunday morning.
An air pollutant index of 301 and above would be categorized as "hazardous".
The historical city of Malacca also recorded a "hazardous" reading of more than 400 by noon.
In the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the sky was shrouded by the haze while a smell of burn filled the air.
The haze, an annual phenomenon largely attributed to the smoke from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia brought in by the southwestern monsoon winds, is especially heavy this year, triggering dangerous air pollutant readings in Singapore and part of Malaysia.
The Malaysian government has called for regional cooperation against the hazardous weather.
Related:
Haze deteriorates in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The recent haze that shrouds part of Malaysia deteriorates throughout the weekend, sending pollutants reading in some areas to dangerous level.
Accoding to the air pollutant index released by the Deparment of Environment, the industrial town of Muar in the southern Johor state reached a staggering reading of 746 early Sunday morning. Full story
Malaysian gov't calls for regional cooperation against haze
KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian government on Friday called for regional cooperation against the hazardous air that shrouds the part of its country and Singapore recently.
"It is important that ASEAN nations work together in a spirit of co-operation to tackle this problem," said an official statement. Full story
Schools in southern Malaysian town closed due to hazardous air
KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Some 200 schools in Muar town of Malaysia's southern Johor State were temporarily closed on Thursday due to deteriorated air condition.
The Department of Environment recorded an air pollutant index of 383 by noon, which was categorized as "hazardous", forcing the local education officials to issue directives to close some 200 primary and secondary schools from Thursday's afternoon session. Full story
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