What API closes schools in Malaysia? The number that decides
Updated 2 min read
Every haze season the same question gets asked at six in the morning: are schools closed today? The answer turns on one number, though that number is not the final word.
The thresholds
| API | Band | What usually happens at school |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 50 | Good | Everything as normal. |
| 51 – 100 | Moderate | Normal. Watch pupils with asthma or breathing problems. |
| 101 – 200 | Unhealthy | Outdoor activities, sport and assemblies are usually stopped. |
| 201 – 300 | Very Unhealthy | Schools in the affected districts are usually ordered shut. |
| Above 300 | Hazardous | Closed, and everyone is told to stay indoors. |
Two hundred is the figure most often quoted. It is not an automatic switch: a reading past 200 is the basis for an instruction, and that instruction comes from the Ministry of Education or the State Education Department for the affected district.
SemakAPI shows the Department of Environment's official readings. It is not a school closure announcement. Confirm with the Ministry, the State Education Department or the school itself before acting.
Why the next town closed and your school did not
Orders are issued by district, and each district is read by its own monitoring station. Two neighbouring districts can sit fifty points apart in the same hour, especially when the wind turns. Check the station nearest your school rather than the state as a whole.
What to do at each level
- Above 100: stop outdoor activity. Sports training, assemblies and PE on the field should move inside.
- Above 150: pupils with asthma or heart conditions, and preschoolers, should stay indoors all day.
- Above 200: expect a closure order. Arrange childcare cover in advance rather than waiting for a six a.m. announcement.
- Cloth and surgical masks do not filter fine particles. Only an N95 will, and only if it seals to the face.