Malaysia declares emergency in Sarawak as haze from Indonesia worsens

Country implements state of emergency in Sarawak’s Serian district after air pollution reaches ‘hazardous’ levels.

This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo, on September 5, 2026 [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

Malaysia has declared a state of emergency in a district in Sarawak state after haze caused by wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia increased air pollution to “hazardous” levels.

King Sultan Ibrahim “has consented to the declaration of emergency throughout Serian Division, Sarawak, following haze conditions that have reached air pollution levels hazardous to public health and safety”, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

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The declaration followed a formal request from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee after the region’s Air Pollutant Index reached levels warranting consideration of a local emergency.

Under the order, 647 schools in Serian will close from Monday until at least the end of next week, alongside government and private offices, plantations, construction sites and quarries, with only essential services continuing to operate.

The state’s disaster management authorities said a three-day cloud-seeding operation launched on Thursday would be extended to at least Monday, citing forecasts of “more conducive cloud formations” during that period.

Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas, speaking at a news conference in Kuching, stressed that the emergency applied only to Serian, not the entire state, but urged residents there to take the situation seriously .

“Please minimise outdoor activities and avoid strenuous activities outdoors,” he said.

Sarawak, in the northern part of Borneo island, has been heavily affected by haze for weeks, as have the neighbouring states of Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.

Other Southeast Asian countries like Brunei have also reported smoggy conditions. Singapore announced it would start providing daily haze advisories from Friday evening, after the 24-hour air quality readings entered the unhealthy range, the first since 2023.

It has also hit the Philippines, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of classes in the capital region, Metro Manila, as well as more than a dozen provinces on Friday.

This year’s transboundary haze, which originates from fires burning across Indonesia , particularly the Kalimantan region and Sumatra island, is part of a wider seasonal wildfire crisis in the archipelago country.

Scientists say temperatures are expected to peak this month, potentially intensifying the fires by bringing hotter and drier conditions across the region.

砂拉越西连县空气污染达到“危险”级别后，该国宣布该县进入紧急状态。

这张从商业飞机上拍摄的航拍照片显示，2026年9月5日，印尼森林大火产生的烟雾笼罩了婆罗洲岛砂拉越州首府古晋的一个居民区。[Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

由于邻国印度尼西亚山火造成的烟霾导致空气污染加剧至“危险”水平，马来西亚宣布砂拉越州一个地区进入紧急状态。

首相安华·易卜拉欣办公室周四发表声明称，苏丹易卜拉欣国王“已同意在砂拉越西连省宣布进入紧急状态，因为雾霾天气已达到危害公众健康和安全的空气污染水平”。

马来西亚前总理伊斯梅尔·萨布里被控隐瞒资产，名单共3人，此为第1人。

马来西亚将于下月遣返1500名罗兴亚难民，尽管存在安全隐患（名单2/3）

印尼南苏门答腊森林野火肆虐，雾霾弥漫，这是该系列报道的第三篇（共三篇）。

在砂拉越地区空气污染指数达到需要考虑当地紧急状态的水平后，砂拉越灾害管理委员会正式提出请求，并发布了这一声明。

根据该命令，西连省的 647 所学校将从周一起关闭，至少持续到下周结束，同时关闭的还有政府和私人办公室、种植园、建筑工地和采石场，只有基本服务将继续运营。

该州灾害管理部门表示，周四开始的为期三天的人工增雨作业将至少延长至周一，理由是预计在此期间将出现“更有利的云层形成”。

砂拉越州灾害管理委员会主席道格拉斯·乌加·恩巴斯在古晋举行的新闻发布会上强调，紧急状态仅适用于西连，而非整个砂拉越州，但他敦促当地居民认真对待这一情况。

“请尽量减少户外活动，避免户外剧烈运动，”他说。

婆罗洲岛北部的砂拉越州以及邻近的沙巴州和马来西亚半岛都已连续数周受到雾霾的严重影响。

其他东南亚国家，如文莱，也报告了雾霾天气。新加坡宣布，在24小时空气质量指数进入不健康范围（2023年以来首次）后，将从周五晚间开始每日发布雾霾预警。

疫情也波及菲律宾，总统小费迪南德·马科斯于周五下令首都马尼拉大都会区以及十几个省份停课。

今年的跨境烟霾源自印度尼西亚各地燃烧的火灾，特别是加里曼丹地区和苏门答腊岛的火灾，这是该群岛国家更广泛的季节性野火危机的一部分。

科学家表示，预计本月气温将达到峰值，这将给该地区带来更热更干燥的天气，从而可能加剧火灾。