Malaysia has announced a state of emergency in a district of Sarawak after haze from wildfires in nearby Indonesia pushed air pollution to levels considered hazardous.

King Sultan Ibrahim “has given his consent for an emergency to be declared across Serian Division, Sarawak, following haze conditions that have reached levels dangerous to public health and safety,” the office of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday.

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The emergency was declared after the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee made an official request, with the area’s Air Pollutant Index climbing to a point where a local emergency was deemed necessary.

Under the emergency measures, 647 schools in Serian will be shut from Monday until at least the end of the following week. Government and private offices, plantations, construction projects and quarries will also close, while essential services will remain open.

State disaster officials said a cloud-seeding mission that began on Thursday and was initially planned for three days would continue until at least Monday. The extension was based on forecasts predicting more suitable cloud conditions.

Douglas Uggah Embas, chairman of the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee, told reporters in Kuching that the emergency covered Serian only and did not apply across the whole state. However, he urged people in the division to treat the crisis seriously.

“Please reduce outdoor activities and avoid heavy physical activity outside,” he said.

Sarawak, located in the northern part of Borneo, has faced severe haze for several weeks. Neighbouring Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia have also experienced deteriorating air conditions.

Other countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, have reported smoky skies. Singapore said it would begin issuing daily haze updates from Friday evening after its 24-hour air quality readings entered the unhealthy category for the first time since 2023.

The haze has also reached the Philippines, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered classes suspended on Friday in Metro Manila and in more than a dozen surrounding provinces.

This year’s cross-border haze has been linked to fires in Indonesia, particularly in Kalimantan and on Sumatra. The pollution forms part of a broader seasonal wildfire emergency affecting the Indonesian archipelago.

Scientists have warned that temperatures may reach their highest point this month, creating hotter and drier weather that could fuel further fires throughout the region.