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Malaysia lifts haze emergency in Sarawak, but warns pollution risks remain

King Sultan Ibrahim revokes the emergency status after rain lowers air pollution levels in Serian district

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Kuching riverside in the city center is shrouded in thick haze in Kuching, Sarawak state on Friday. Photo: AP
The city skyline is blanketed in haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday. Photo: EPA
A visitor photographs the city skyline blanketed in haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday. Photo: EPA
A firefighter sprays water in South Sumatra, Indonesia, on Saturday. Indonesian authorities have intensified response operations as wildfires across Sumatra and Kalimantan generate toxic transboundary haze, affecting neighboring Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. Photo: EPA
Agence France-Presse
Malaysia called off a haze emergency in Sarawak state on Borneo island on Monday but said very unhealthy levels of air pollution remained as a result of forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia. Sarawak has been heavily affected by fires in Indonesia’s Kalimantan, with the haze forcing school closures in some parts of the state.

Kuala Lumpur on Friday activated the emergency after obtaining royal consent when pollution levels reached critical levels in Serian, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of the Sarawak capital, Kuching.

King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar “today approved the termination of the declaration of emergency”, the prime minister’s office said on Monday. The decision was based on advice from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg, as well as reports from government agencies showing that air quality readings in Serian were no longer at a hazardous level.
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Indonesia’s Kalimantan blanketed in thick haze as country continues to battle wildfires

“The haze situation in Sarawak has not yet fully recovered, and the air pollution index (API) reading in several areas ... particularly Serian and Samarahan districts, is still at very unhealthy levels,” it said in a statement.

The federal government and the Sarawak state government will continue to closely monitor the situation, and residents in affected areas are advised to limit outdoor activities and to always comply with instructions from the authorities,” it said.

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