By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Sept 11: After a heavy downpour during the night, air quality readings in Sarawak’s capital city, Samarahan and Sri Aman showed improvement this morning.
According to Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee secretariat Major Ismail Mahedin from the Malaysian Civil Defence Force in a statement, the air pollutant index (API) readings as at 8am today are 154 in Kuching, 138 in Samarahan and 168 in Sri Aman.
The three areas had recorded very unhealthy levels over the past few days with API readings above 200.
The remaining 10 stations in the state recorded moderate readings below 100.
The API issued by the Department of Environment comprises the following categories: good (0-50), moderate (51-100), unhealthy (101-200), very unhealthy (201-300) and hazardous (301 and above).
Yesterday, 409 schools from nine districts were closed, including 62 secondary schools and 347 primary schools, involving 157,479 students.
According to the State Education Department in a statement, school closures took place in Kuching (87), Padawan (101), Betong (53), Sri Aman (41), Bau (44), Lubok Antu (30), Samarahan (three), Serian (20) and Lundu (30) due to the worsening haze situation.
However, the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) public examinations proceeded as scheduled. — DayakDaily
