IPOH, Sept 17 — Schools located in the Seri Manjung area should close as unhealthy air quality was recorded today, Perak Health director Datuk Dr Ding Lay Ming said.
A check of the Department of Environment's Air Pollutant Index (API) showed the coastal town having recorded a reading of 208 as at noon.
Dr Ding said that under the National Haze Action Plan, schools are advised to close if the API shows above 200.
“However, the closure of schools are under the jurisdiction of the Education Ministry,” she said in a brief statement.
State health committee chairman A. Sivanesan said that the matter was deliberated in the exco meeting last Wednesday.
“Last week the API reading in Perak was below 100. We decided that action will be taken if the reading exceeds 100.
“Schools was informed that if this happens, they should stop holding outside activities until the situation improves,” he added.
Last Friday, more than one thousand passengers were affected as flights were cancelled at the Sultan Azlan Shah (SAS) Airport due to haze.
Airport manager Mohd Ali Osman said 549 passengers who had been due to fly out to Singapore and Johor Baru were left stranded at the airport after their flights were cancelled.
He said that another 555 passengers who were supposed to arrive at the airport on four flights were diverted to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SAAS) in Subang after the flights could not land due to visibility issues.
He said flight visibility went down to 2,500 metres causing a disruption in operations.
