Sarawak Haze Eases Off Hazardous Peak; Six Areas Still 'Very Unhealthy'

Sarawak's air quality improved on Sept. 5, with no monitoring station registering a 'hazardous' (API > 300) reading for the first time since the crisis intensified in late August. As of 1pm, six areas remained in the 'very unhealthy' band: Serian led at 287 (down sharply from the 521 hazardous peak that triggered Sept. 4's emergency declaration), followed by Kuching (267), Sri Aman (251), Samarahan (242), Samalaju (202), and Bintulu (201). Nationwide, 25 areas registered 'unhealthy' readings, 26 'moderate,' and 11 'good.' Officials linked the improvement to persistent but slightly weaker transboundary smoke, with roughly 139 active hotspots tracked across Kalimantan and Sumatra. The state's Disaster Management Committee said cloud-seeding operations, schools closures, and the Serian emergency measures declared the previous day would remain in force pending further monitoring.