Malaysia's Sarawak declares emergency in Serian district due to haze

Malaysia's ​Sarawak state declared ‌an emergency ​in the district of Serian ‌on Friday, after thick haze caused by forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia pushed ‌air pollution up to ‌hazardous levels. Sarawak, on Borneo, has been heavily affected by fires on the ⁠Indonesian ​side ⁠of the island, with haze forcing ⁠school closures in some parts of the ​state.

Malaysian authorities categorise Air Pollution ⁠Index (API) readings above 300 as hazardous, ⁠with ​a measuring of 500 serving as the threshold for ⁠declaring an emergency. The API measured 519 ⁠in ⁠Serian on Friday, government data showed.