Haze: 214 schools in S'gor shut, 231,921 students affected

SHAH ALAM (Bernama): An additional 99 schools in Petaling Perdana, Kuala Selangor, Gombak and Petaling Utama were ordered to close today due to the worsening haze, bringing the total number of affected schools in Selangor to 214.

According to the Ministry of Education (MoE) in a statement on Wednesday morning, the schools were ordered to close after the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in the areas exceeded 200, beginning at midnight.

"The temporary closure of 99 schools, on top of 115 schools, was made based on the API reading at the Shah Alam station.

"This brings the total number of students involved to 231,921, ” the statement said.

It said any changes or updates would be issued from time to time.

In a statement issued last night, MoE announced that 115 schools in Sepang, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Klang and Sabak Bernam were ordered to close on Wednesday due to worsening haze situation.

Meanwhile, according to the Department of Environment’s website as of 7am today, the API reading of 219 was recorded in Shah Alam, 202 in Petaling Jaya and Klang, and 186 in Banting.

API reading between 0 and 50 is categorised as good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and 300 or above (hazardous). – Bernama