KOTA KINABALU, Sept 15 — Schools located in the districts affected by the haze in Sabah will be ordered to close if the situation worsens, state Education and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob said.

“We are monitoring the current haze situation and if there is a need to close the schools, we will announce that. I think every school management knows what needs to be done and they are always ready for a situation like this...the health and safety of the students should be their utmost priority.”

He said this to reporters after launching the fourth convocation ceremony for Sabah and Labuan zone Vocational Colleges under of the Ministry of Education and handed out diplomas to 1,152 graduates from various fields of studies, here today.

According to the Malaysian Air Pollution Index Management System (APIMS) portal today, Tawau recorded an unhealthy Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 117 as at 2pm, while Sandakan recorded API readings of 97, followed by Kimanis (86), Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic (84), Keningau (83), Kota Kinabalu (77) and Labuan island (93).

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An API reading of zero to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy and 301 and above, hazardous.

The public can refer to the Department of Environment (DOE) website at http://apims.doe.gov.my for hourly API readings. — Bernama