PUBLISHED ONSeptember 05, 2026 10:10 AMBYSean LerAir quality in Sarawak has returned below the hazardous level on Saturday (Sept 5), data from Malaysia's Air Pollutant Index (API) management system showed at 4.45pm.
Serian district, most heavily affected by fires on the Indonesian side of the island, recorded an API reading of 243 at 5pm.
The very unhealthy reading was also recorded at Sri Aman (237), Samarahan (211), Kuching (271), Samalaju (208) and Bintulu (210).
All other parts of Malaysia, including West Malaysia, have readings between moderate and unhealthy.
On Friday, Serian recorded an API reading of 519, prompting Malaysian authorities to declare a state of emergency, after the threshold of 400 — for declaring an emergency — was crossed.
Sarawak, on Borneo, has closed schools in some parts of the state due to haze.
Malaysia Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said at a Terengganu event on Saturday that cloud seeding operations carried out in Sarawak on Friday, and in Kedah and Perlis, have showed positive results with several areas recording rain.
Arthur added that Indonesia has given written permission for Malaysia's planes to enter its airspace for such operations.
In a related development, the minister also revealed that the government is ready to propose declaring an emergency for any area that records an API reading of more than 400.
This is in line with the standard operating procedures, he said, adding that any reading above 400 is considered "very dangerous".
Meanwhile, the declaration of emergency would remain in effect until API readings drop to a safer level, with safety measures to be taken for now.
This includes school closures and wearing face masks.
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