Sawt Falasteen - Malaysia declares haze emergency in Sarawak state on Borneo

The declaration covers the Serian division in Malaysian Borneo and will see 647 schools closed from Monday until at least the end of next week.

Cloud seeding operations to produce rainfall in the area will be extended to at least Monday, Sarawak's disaster management authorities said.

King Sultan Ibrahim "has consented to the declaration of emergency throughout Serian Division, Sarawak, following haze conditions that have reached air pollution levels hazardous to public health and safety", Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's office said in a statement.

The move came after the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee formally requested the declaration when the Air Pollutant Index (API) in Serian breached the critical threshold of 500, peaking at 519 earlier on Friday.

Under Malaysian guidelines, API levels above 300 are classified as hazardous, while readings beyond 500 could trigger consideration of a local emergency.

The emergency measures also mean that government and private offices in the town of Serian will be closed, including plantations, construction sites and quarries.

Only essential services will be operating.

Authorities launched a three-day cloud-seeding operation on Thursday as smoke from Indonesia's Kalimantan region blanketed the state, driving up respiratory complaints and triggering a rush for haze-rated masks.

Emergency agencies have alerted residents and begun distributing clean drinking water to affected communities.

The government said the emergency order will enable more effective mitigation measures, while cloud-seeding operations by the Royal Malaysian Air Force continued over key catchment areas to induce rain.

Sarawak's disaster management team have also asked authorities to extend the cloud seeding operations until Monday "following advice that more conducive cloud formations are expected during this period".

It maintained that Thursday's cloud seeding operation "was successfully conducted, with suitable cloud formations over the Batang Ai area successfully producing rainfall".

Sarawak Disaster Management Committee Chairman Douglas Uggah Embas, speaking at an emergency press conference in Kuching, stressed the declaration applied only to Serian division and not the entire state.

But he urged residents in the area "to take the current situation seriously".

"Please minimise outdoor activities and avoid strenuous activities outdoors," he said.

"Where outdoor exposure is unavoidable, wear an N95 mask, or at minimum a 3-ply mask, and take particular care of children, senior citizens and those who are more vulnerable to the effects of haze," Uggah added.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST