KUALA LUMPUR, June 23- All schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor will be closed tomorrow as advised by the prime minister, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel.
He said he would ask Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh to take the necessary action.
“The haze situation was worsening as of 5pm and the schools are ordered to be closed as a precautionary measure since the bad air quality will affect the health of students,” he said in a statement, here, today.
Palanivel also advised parents to keep their children indoors and use face masks if they needed to go out.
The Department of Environment (DoE) reported that the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in Muar, which has been declared an emergency area, recorded a slight drop with a reading of 690 at 11am today, from 746 four hours earlier.
The API readings for Melaka City and Bukit Rambai in Melaka, which earlier recorded hazardous levels of 357 and 334 respectively, soared to 415 and 428.
States which have registered unhealthy API readings include the federal capital, Putrajaya, Selangor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor. The two areas categorised as having good air quality are Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah.
– BERNAMA
