Indonesian smog cloud shut Malaysian schools

Malaysian authorities shut down most of the country’s schools for two days because of possible health risks posed by the thick haze from Indonesian forest fires. The handful schools which were excluded from the order are located in outlying areas of the country.

The action was taken after about half of Malaysia’s 52 pollutant monitoring stations around the country registered unhealthy air quality. These 52 stations, six including one in Kuala Lumpur registered very unhealthy levels, with one area in the outskirts of the capital hovering close to the hazardous level.

Cause of Smog

• The smog was caused due to smoke from forest fires on Sumatra.
• The forest fires resulted from illegal slash-and-burn practices, principally in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
• The burning is practised for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil and it increases during the dry season.
• This has affected several Southeast Asian countries, like Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, by creating thick haze of smog and it is on the track to be the worst on record, surpassing the 9-billion dollar damage, which was recorded in 1997.

Effects of the haze in the region

• It forced shutting down of the Singapore leg of the FINA World Championships, swimming World Cup.
• One of Malaysia’s biggest marathons was also cancelled because of health fears for the 30000 runners.
• A local football league matches was cancelled.
• The Indonesian government declared a state of emergency in Riau province, one of the worst affected areas.
• Earlier, a state of emergency was declared in six Indonesian provinces, namely Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan by the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management.