Schools will be closed on Friday due to worsening haze in Malaysia, while Kuala Lumpur is considering artificial rain to stem the situation. More than 1.7 million students will be affected with the closure of schools due to haze.
The resultant unhealthy air quality in Singapore caused by the Indonesian fire pushed the Republic higher in the list of top 10 world's most polluted cities though the condition briefly improved last night. The Malaysian government is seriously considering creating artificial rain by using drones to combat the haze in the country.
It should be noted that in Singapore, the air quality improved overnight with 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings and one-hour PM2.5 concentrations showing a decline as of Friday morning data.
On Thursday, September 19 reports mentioned that air quality was unhealthy with the National Environment Agency's (NEA) pollutant standard index (PSI) sitting at 120 at around 9 am. This level of the unhealthy air quality pushed Singapore to 7 th positionAirVisual ranking while the air quality in Malaysia and Indonesia continues to worsen. But on Friday morning, at round 9 am the 24-hour PSI reading was 59 to 64, which is a moderate range and
From workers to Primary 6 pupils all left home for the respective destination after the air quality improved in Singapore. But in Malaysia, due to the poor air quality 2,600 schools remained closed on Friday that affected more than 1.7 million students.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said by using drones may help the country to create artificial rain, a defence against the unhealthy haze.
Tun Dr Mahathir said at a press conference, "We have a suggestion to use drones to form artificial rain... We can use several drones at one time and deploy in a particular area such as Putrajaya which is badly affected by haze."
Dr Mahathir also stated that Malaysia offered help to Indonesia regarding the fire, but they did not accept Malaysia's offer for assistance.
It should be mentioned that a total of 2,646 schools in Malaysia will be closed on Friday due to poor air quality, which means that over 1.7 million students will be affected.
