MIRI, April 15 — Miri recorded the highest Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in Sarawak on Wednesday morning as bush and peat fires continued to rage during the ongoing dry spell in northern Sarawak.

According to Department of Environment Malaysia’s Air Pollution Index Management System (APIMS), the ILP Miri station registered an API of 91 at 10am this morning, indicating a moderate air quality.

Elsewhere, three stations — Serian (70),  Bintulu  (59) and Samalaju (58) — also recorded moderate air quality, while the rest of Sarawak showed good air quality with API readings below 50.

In contrast, neighbouring Kuala Belait in Brunei recorded an API of 23 at 9am, reflecting good air quality.

Moderate air quality is defined as API readings between 51 and 100, which may pose a moderate health concern for a small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, are advised to limit prolonged outdoor activities.

Localised burning in Miri has stretched firefighters to the limit, particulatly in the Lutong-Kuala Baram sector north of the city, with sporadic fire also reported elsewhere.

Lutong fire station chief Henry Jugah said teams from Lutong fire station, Naim, Baramville and KSC were coordinating direct attack operations on Wednesday to extinguish the fires.

He added that aerial water bombing operations using the department’s Mi-8 helicopter are slated to begin soon to complement ground efforts by firefighters and voluntary units from the private sector. — The Borneo Post

APRIL 14 — Danger in Malaysia today does not always announce itself with loud sirens or surging floodwaters. Sometimes it drifts in quietly, settling into classrooms sweltering hot by mid-morning, and skies that turn a familiar grey. For children, heatwaves and haze are no longer rare disruptions, but part of everyday life.

The Ministry of Health has reported multiple heat-related cases so far this year. In Kedah, 206 schools were forced to close after Level 2 heatwave conditions were recorded. These may seem like isolated incidents but taken together they point to a more urgent concern. Analysis of global climate data by Unicef indicates that Malaysia now experiences around eight heatwaves a year, roughly four times more than in the 1960s, with each lasting about five days on average. Today, an estimated 1.16 million children in Malaysia are exposed to heatwaves. 

We also know that periods of high heat often intersect with the haze season. In recent weeks, several parts of Malaysia have experienced unhealthy air quality, driven by regional forest fires and intensified by hotter, drier conditions. This is not new. Haze is a recurring challenge in Malaysia, with severe episodes often lasting for weeks to months.

What is often overlooked is how much this affects children. Heatwaves present real dangers. Prolonged exposure increases the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke, as children’s bodies heat up faster and cool down more slowly than adults.

These risks are compounded during haze periods. As children’s lungs are still developing and they breathe more rapidly than adults, poor air quality has immediate and often more severe effects. Evidence from the 2021 report by UNICEF and academic partners (Impacts of Climate Change on Children in Malaysia) shows that haze exposure is linked to increased respiratory illness and hospitalisation among children, with urban and low-income communities disproportionately affected. 

While the impacts of heat and haze are frequently seen in clinics and emergency rooms, they are also manifested in missed school days and disrupted routines. 

And the impact on learning is significant. Heat makes it harder to concentrate, drains energy and slows cognitive function Over time, these effects accumulate. By graduation, students in the hottest regions can lose up to a year or more of total learning. 

Schools may respond by adjusting schedules, cancelling outdoor activities or even introducing temporary school closures. While necessary, these measures point to a deeper issue: heatwaves are increasingly disruptive to education. Unlike floods, they do not destroy infrastructure, but they steadily undermine learning outcomes.

There is also a less visible psychological impact. Repeated exposure to extreme heat, polluted air and environmental uncertainty can increase stress, fatigue and anxiety in children. 

More than a disruption

Heatwaves and haze are not seasonal inconveniences. They are systemic challenges, affecting health systems, cities, schools, homes, and ultimately, children’s rights. When environmental stress repeatedly undermines these foundations, their rights are not fully realized.

Malaysia has taken important steps through public health advisories, school guidelines and emergency measures. These efforts matter, but they are no longer sufficient. Climate impacts are intensifying faster than our systems are adapting, and responding to each heatwave or haze episode in isolation will leave more children exposed each year.

From response to readiness

What is needed now is a clear and urgent shift from response to readiness. Heat and air pollution must be treated with the same urgency and policy priority as floods or storms, not as stand-alone hazards but as interconnected, systemic risks to children’s development and daily lives. 

Children’s climate adaptation needs should be integrated across key systems such as education, health, social protection, and urban planning. Malaysia’s National Adaptation Plan is an opportunity to drive this shift by strengthening preparedness, particularly in how heat and haze affect children’s health, learning and wellbeing. In practical terms, this means ensuring schools can cope with rising heat through basic measures such as ventilation, shaded spaces and access to safe drinking water. It also means linking early warning systems to timely, coordinated action for schools, clinics and families. 

Most importantly, climate adaptation must be grounded in the lived realities of children and young people. They are already navigating overheated classrooms, disrupted learning, and unhealthy air. Listening to their experiences is not symbolic. It is essential to designing solutions that effectively protect their health, dignity and development.

Children are the least responsible for climate threats. But without urgent, collective action, they will shoulder its heaviest burden. Heat and haze are no longer distant environmental concerns; they are reshaping daily life for millions of children across Malaysia. Putting children at the centre of climate resilience is not a choice, it is a national responsibility, and the time to act is now.

*Nasha Lee is a climate and environment specialist at Unicef Malaysia

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.

GEORGE TOWN – Punca kematian peguam veteran dan kerani wanita yang maut dalam kebakaran di sebuah pejabat guaman di Lebuh King di sini, semalam disebabkan asfiksia atau lemas akibat penyedutan asap.

Timbalan Ketua Polis Daerah Timur Laut, Superintendan Lee Swee Sake berkata, ini hasil daripada keputusan bedah siasat yang dijalankan di Hospital Pulau Pinang, hari ini.

“Mangsa maut merupakan pesara peguam berusia 88 dan seorang kerani wanita berumur 60 tahun. Hasil bedah siasat mendapati punca kematian mangsa disebabkan oleh asfiksia akibat penyedutan asap daripada kebakaran yang berlaku di unit rumah kedai dua tingkat (kelas A) itu,” katanya di sini, hari ini.

Mendiang Sanmarkan akan disemadikan di Tanah Perkuburan Hindu di Batu Lanchang, Jelutong.

Terdahulu, Kosmo! Online melaporkan dua mangsa terdiri peguam dan kerani wanita disahkan maut terperangkap dalam kebakaran yang berlaku kira-kira pukul 12 tengah hari semalam.

Mayat mangsa yang dikenali sebagai Datuk G. Sanmarkan dan B. Chandra ditemukan di tingkat atas bangunan separa kayu dua tingkat berkenaan.

Mangsa pertama iaitu Sanmarkan ditemukan di atas kerusi berdekatan meja pejabat di tepi tingkap, pada pukul 1.05 tengah hari manakala mangsa kedua dijumpai di bawah timbunan fail, di tepi dinding lokasi sama. – KOSMO! ONLINE

KUALA NERANG – Seorang peniaga berdepan detik cemas apabila sebahagian gerainya runtuh dan menimpa dua pelanggan dalam kejadian ribut di Felda Lubuk Merbau, dekat sini semalam.

Menurut Nik Hasan Nik Su, 47, kejadian berlaku kira-kira pukul 3.30 petang ketika dia dan isteri, Norasiah Hasan, 52, baru sahaja membuka gerai.

“Ribut datang dua kali, yang pertama tidak kuat sangat sebelum datang angin kencang kali kedua. Ribut itu sangat menakutkan menyebabkan saya dan isteri ketakutan, kami berlari masuk ke ruang dalam gerai.

“Waktu itu ada dua pelanggan berusia lingkungan 60-an sedang makan, mereka tidak sempat lari sebelum dihempap struktur bumbung yang runtuh. Selepas ribut reda, saya keluar dan mereka beritahu kena hempap bumbung sebelum beredar,” katanya ketika ditemui di gerainya, hari ini.

Katanya, dalam keadaan kelam-kabut itu, dia tidak sempat bertanyakan keadaan dua pelanggannya itu.

“Angin sangat kuat sehinggakan kira-kira 10 tiang gerai tumbang, sebahagian bumbung juga hilang diterbangkan angin. Saya risau tidak boleh berniaga kerana hanya ini sumber pendapatan untuk menyara keluarga, kedai ini pun saya sewa,” ujarnya.

Seorang lagi peniaga, Iswani Taib, 52, berkata, ia merupakan kejadian terburuk yang pernah berlaku di Felda tersebut kerana lebih 100 rumah dan premis perniagaan terjejas.

“Semasa kejadian, saya sedang berehat di bilik belakang di kedai makan saya ini sebelum terdengar bunyi deruan angin. Datang angin kedua, terus mengangkat keseluruhan bumbung gerai makan dan waktu itu saya hanya mampu melaungkan azan.

“Bumbung kedai diterbangkan ke lorong tengah bangunan kedai iaitu sejauh kira-kira 30 meter. Kerugian dianggarkan RM30,000 dan saya berharap ada pihak yang datang memberi bantuan segera,” ujarnya.

Penduduk, Azizul Ibrahim, 39, berkata, kesan selepas kejadian sangat teruk bagaikan tsunami apabila bumbung rumah termasuk dari rumahnya serta sisa pokok berselerakan di sana sini.

“Angin sangat kuat sehinggakan bangsal kayu di depan rumah saya yang berat itu pun boleh beralih. Selepas bumbung hilang, air hujan masuk ke dalam rumah menyebabkan semua perabot dan barangan elektrik basah.

“Tidak tahulah boleh guna lagi atau tidak, selain itu bumbung juga perlu dibaiki segera yang mana kosnya agak tinggi disebabkan kenaikan harga diesel,” jelasnya.

Dalam pada itu, Pengerusi Majlis Ketua Kampung Dusun, Felda Lubuk Merbau, Mohd. Shahrin Abd. Rahman berkata, sehingga pukul 12 tengah hari ini, kira-kira 143 rumah dilaporkan terjejas akibat kejadian itu dan ia tidak termasuk 30 kedai yang turut rosak. – KOSMO! ONLINE