Sarawak nears haze emergency as air quality hits worst level since 2019

The East Malaysian state of Sarawak is experiencing its worst air quality since 2019, with one monitoring station recording a peak Air Pollution Index (API) level of 475 – nearing the threshold for an emergency declaration.



If such a declaration were made, all government and private offices, excluding essential services, would close, the State Disaster Management Committee chairman and Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah Embas confirmed.



He also urged the public to wear a face mask when outdoors.



Around noon on Aug 30, the API surpassed the 301 hazardous threshold in the state capital Kuching as well as the neighbouring districts of Samarahan and Serian.



Sarawak’s worst air quality level in the last decade was in 2019, with a recorded API of 405.