Haze: 15 schools in Manjung district ordered to close

The Ipoh skyline shrouded by haze.

IPOH: Fifteen primary and secondary schools in the Manjung district were ordered to close for the afternoon session on Tuesday after air quality remained at very unhealthy levels. 

State Education Department director Mohd Idris Ramli said the schools would remain close Wednesday morning if the Air Pollutant Index (API) in the district did not improve.

“A total of 5,945 children from six primary and nine secondary schools were affected by the closure,” said Mohd Idris.

The affected schools were SK Seri Manjung, SK Kampung Dato Seri Kamarudin, SK Methodist (ACS), SK Methodist, SK Convent, SK Simpang Empat, SMK Seri Manjung, SMK Ahmad Boestamam, SMK Seri Samudera, SMK Nan Hwa, SMK Methodist, SMK Methodist (ACS), SMK Tok Perdana, SMK Ambrose and SMK Dato Idris.

A check on the Department of Environment website showed the API reading of the coastal town to be 208 at 8am and had increased to 250 at 2pm. 

API readings for the rest of Perak remained at unhealthy levels.

An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above, hazardous.