A total of 647 schools in Sarawak will close for five days from Sept 7 to 11 as haze conditions worsen, with lessons moving online. The temporary closure covers 563 primary schools with 108,477 pupils and 84 secondary schools with 90,082 students. The affected education districts include Kuching, Padawan, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Simunjan, Serian, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Kanowit, Julau and Meradong. Home-based teaching and learning will continue during the closure. Schools have been told to follow education and health procedures, monitor local API readings through APIMS and observe guidance on outdoor activities. For families in Kuching and nearby districts, Monday’s arrangement is now clear for the listed schools: children should remain at home and follow instructions from their schools for online lessons. Any later change will come through the Sarawak Education Department.

Sarawak’s next cloud-seeding window is Sept 3–5, but the operation could start earlier if the haze worsens. The federal plan covers Sarawak, Kedah and Perlis, with the Malaysian Meteorological Department working alongside the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Sarawak officials are also weighing whether to bring forward the Sarawak operation as air quality deteriorates. APIMS readings at 2pm on Aug 30 were 425 in Serian, 336 in Samarahan and 313 in Kuching. Cloud seeding is being considered for two practical reasons: helping haze-affected areas and adding water to dams as reserves fall. The dates are a window, not a weather guarantee. Flights still depend on suitable clouds and their movement; daily flight times and target locations have not been announced.

Sarawak's air quality has improved, with every monitoring station at moderate level except Bario, which remained good. The Natural Resources and Environment Board's Daily Haze Watch recorded Kuching's Air Pollutant Index (API) at 87 as of 8am Monday, seven points lower than Sunday afternoon. Serian dropped from 157 to 98, while Samarahan fell from 151 to 92. Lundu and Tebedu also moved down from unhealthy readings to 93 and 73. API readings from 51 to 100 are classified as moderate, while 0 to 50 is considered good. These API figures are a time-specific snapshot from 2026-08-17, not a full-day forecast. Rain, wind and new hotspots can change the number quickly, so check APIMS again before school sports, outdoor work or a long trip. Children, older people and people with asthma or heart or lung conditions should reduce strenuous outdoor activity while the air remains unhealthy. [image: 1786939511831-20260817-sarawak-air.jpg]