SEREMBAN: Hours after the authorities here ordered 63 schools to be closed in Port Dickson due to the worsening haze, another 46 schools in Nilai have also been ordered close after the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading reached 203 at 9am.
Earlier, the state Education Department had directed schools in Port Dickson to be closed after the API reading breached the "very unhealthy" mark of 203.
As of 9am, the API reading in Port Dickson was 212.
The number of students affected in Port Dickson totalled 22,877, while in Nilai, the numbers were more than 15,000.
State education, entrepreneurship, industrialisation, investment and human capital committee chairman Dr Mohamad Rafie Abd Malek said teachers would still be required to attend, but they should take precautionary measures which include donning a mask.
He said the state education department would continue to monitor the haze situation and provide updates from time to time.