Bad Air Quality: Malaysia Plans To Make Artificial Rain, Schools Will Be Closed

Illustration of Malaysia. (Wikimedia Commons/CEphoto/Uwe Aranas)

JAKARTA - Malaysia's Department of Environment said the country plans to try to make artificial rain and plans to blur schools, when air quality in various places worsens, raising concerns about a new chapter of pollution due to forest fires.

Malaysia's air quality is deteriorating, particularly in the western part of the Malaysian Peninsula, with 11 regions recording an unhealthy air pollution index (API), department director general Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said in a statement.

Malaysia said last week that the fire that occurred in Indonesia was the cause of the pollution, although Indonesia denied detecting any smoke crossing its border into Malaysia.

In addition, the Malaysian department said earlier on Monday, regional meteorological agencies had detected nearly 250 "hotspots", indicating land fires on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia and in parts of the island of Kalimantan, but none in Malaysia.

"Efforts to clear the air by rain through cloud seeding and other measures to overcome pollution will take effect, when the readout of the API reaches 150 for more than 24 hours," said Wan Abdul Latiff.

Schools and kindergartens must stop all outdoor activities when API reads are 100, and close when it reaches 200, he continued.

Meanwhile, environmental group Greenpeace called on countries in the region to introduce legislation to stop plantation companies that cause air pollution.

"The act of cross-border smog is needed as a precaution, especially as there are many adverse effects in the industry," said regional campaign strategist for Southeast Asia's Greenpeace Heng Kiah Chun in a statement.

Singapore passed a cross-border air pollution law in 2014, so anyone who causes smog can be criminally and civilly responsible.