Haze returns to Malaysia’s Sarawak, Selangor as Indonesian wildfires burn out of control

Residents in Malaysia have been urged to stay indoors as the air pollution index hits unhealthy levels in parts of Sarawak and Selangor

A wildfire scorched 550 hectares (1,360 acres) of land in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java over the weekend – the largest of several that spread rapidly across the island last week as parts of Southeast Asia bake in an unusually dry season.

Smog from the fires has choked the southern half of Sarawak state on Malaysian Borneo, where the air pollution index (API) hit as high as 182 in the state’s southern district of Serian as of noon on Monday.

Malaysia ranks pollution readings of between 100 and 200 as “unhealthy”. Readings above 200 are considered “very unhealthy” and typically lead to closures of schools and hard limits on outdoor activities.

The Sarawak state government has urged the public to limit outdoor activities for as long as the haze persists, especially since there is little it can do to address the issue.