Sarawak Air Quality Reaches Hazardous Levels Amid Persistent Smog

Hazardous smog from Indonesian wildfires and prolonged dry weather pushed air quality in Malaysia’s Sarawak state to critical levels on August 31, 2026.

Hazardous Air Quality Chokes Sarawak Districts

Air quality across Malaysia’s northern Borneo state of Sarawak deteriorated sharply, with multiple districts recording hazardous readings driven by extended dry spells and transboundary smoke. Data from the Air Pollutant Index Management System captured extreme pollution levels on Monday, August 31, 2026, where the worst-hit area of Serian reached an API reading of 476. Other severely affected parts of the state included Lubok Antu at 367, Lundu at 349, and Sri Aman at 326.

Malaysia’s established air quality index classifies readings from zero to 50 as “good,” 51 to 100 as “moderate,101 to 200 asunhealthy,201 to 300 asvery unhealthy,and 301 and above ishazardous.” The southern half of Sarawak has borne the brunt of the smog, which returned as agricultural and forest fires burned out of control in neighboring Indonesia. Transboundary haze is a long-standing problem in Southeast Asia, particularly affecting Malaysia and Singapore due to their proximity to Indonesia, where vast tracts of forests and agricultural land become fire hotspots during the dry season. Smog from the fires has choked the southern half of Sarawak state on Malaysian Borneo, where the air pollution index previously hit as high as 182 in Serian during earlier episodes.

School Closures, Regional Wildfires, and Government Responses

More than 100 schools were closed in Malaysia’s Sarawak state to protect children from worsening haze caused by forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia, as reported by Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama. Specifically, 108 schools in the district of Serian in Sarawak closed after air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels, citing the state’s disaster management committee. Malaysia ranks pollution readings of between 100 and 200 as “unhealthy,while readings above 200 are consideredvery unhealthy” and typically lead to closures of schools and hard limits on outdoor activities.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability attributed the widespread haze to prolonged hot and dry weather linked to El Nino, below-average rainfall, and extensive domestic and cross-border open burning. Meanwhile, forest and land fires in Indonesia prompted officials there to step up efforts to contain the blazes by inducing rain using cloud-seeding aircraft. A wildfire had also 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 as parts of Southeast Asia bake in an unusually dry season.

Health Advisories and Nationwide Monitoring

In response to the deteriorating environmental conditions, Malaysia’s Health Ministry advised the public in the affected areas to reduce their physical and outdoor activities once air quality readings exceed 100, and to seek treatment if they experience shortness of breath and prolonged coughing. The Ministry also stated that it would strengthen surveillance of haze-related diseases and enhance the readiness of its health facilities, medicine supplies, and medical personnel. The Sarawak state government similarly urged the public to limit outdoor activities for as long as the haze persists, noting that there is little it can do to address the transboundary issue directly.

Photo: reuters.com

591 Sarawak Schools Shut as Haze Pushes Air Quality to ‘Very Unhealthy’ Levels

The situation extended beyond Sarawak’s borders as the regional haze shifted. Sarawak remained the country’s haze hotspot, with Samarahan registering the highest Air Pollutant Index reading in the country at 164 as of 7:30 AM on a Thursday morning, according to APIMS data. The Serian District Police Headquarters area recorded an API reading of 162, followed by Sri Aman at 155. Additionally, Cheras in Kuala Lumpur entered the unhealthy range with an API reading of 129. Across the wider nation, 61 monitoring stations registered moderate readings, only two recorded good air quality, and no stations recorded very unhealthy or hazardous levels at that time, while API data for the Politeknik Kota Kinabalu monitoring station in Sabah was unavailable. The API is updated hourly based on readings from 68 air quality monitoring stations across Malaysia, and the public can access ongoing updates through the Department of Environment’s official Air Quality Monitoring System and the MyJAS EQMS application.