18 September 2026
5 min read
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The haze looks bad. You check your phone. IQAir says the air quality is above 200.
Your child's school is still open.
So what is going on?
On the morning of 18 September, IQAir's Kuala Lumpur page moved above 200 on its US AQI+ scale, with several neighbourhood sensors also above 200. Around the same period, reporting based on Malaysia's official data showed the country's highest IPU at 6am was 196 in Johan Setia, Selangor.
Both can be true because IQAir's AQI+ is not the same thing as Malaysia's official Air Pollutant Index, or IPU.
And when it comes to school closures, the official Malaysian IPU is the number that matters.
Schools don't use IQAir to decide whether to close
Malaysia has its own official air-quality index: the Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), or Air Pollutant Index, published by the Department of Environment through APIMS.
The Ministry of Education reminded education institutions on 26 August 2026 to monitor haze conditions and follow the existing guidelines.
Under KPM's haze guidelines:
- When the official IPU exceeds 100, schools must stop outdoor activities involving students.
- When the official IPU exceeds 200, schools in the affected area or district must close immediately.
So seeing 200+ on IQAir does not automatically mean schools should close.
The school-closure threshold applies to Malaysia's official IPU.
Why can IQAir show a much higher number?
Because the two systems do not calculate air quality in exactly the same way.
IQAir uses AQI+, based on US air-quality categories. It uses hourly pollutant averages so its readings can respond relatively quickly when conditions change.
Malaysia uses the Department of Environment's own IPU methodology.
The Department of Environment explains that the IPU is calculated from sub-indices for different pollutants, with the highest sub-index becoming the reported IPU.
The averaging period also differs by pollutant. For PM2.5 and PM10, Malaysia uses a 24-hour average.
That matters when haze conditions are changing quickly.
In simple terms:
IQAir can move more quickly as air conditions change.
The IPU is Malaysia's official measure used for government actions such as school closures.
One reading does not necessarily mean the other is "wrong". They are different indices.
So why does IQAir appear when you Google "haze KL"?
This is probably where much of the confusion starts.
Search "KL haze", "KL air quality" or "haze index KL" and IQAir can appear prominently.
It is easy to assume that the first number you see on Google must therefore be Malaysia's official haze reading.
But search results do not work that way.
Google explains that its search systems use many signals to select pages they consider relevant and useful for a query. An official government source is not guaranteed to appear first for every search.
IQAir also has something particularly suited to these searches: dedicated city pages, frequently updated readings, forecasts and titles built around phrases such as "Kuala Lumpur Air Quality Index".
So if IQAir is at the top of your search results, it means Google has surfaced a page it considers relevant to that search.
It does not mean IQAir is Malaysia's official government index.
A useful rule of thumb is:
Top of Google ≠ official government index.
For Malaysia's official IPU reading, check the Department of Environment's APIMS.
A good example from this morning
The difference was visible on 18 September.
IQAir's Kuala Lumpur page showed the city's AQI+ above 200 during the morning, while several individual sensors in the city were also above 200.
But according to RTM, as of 6am, 34 areas across Malaysia were officially in the unhealthy IPU range and the highest reading in the country was 196 in Johan Setia.
The air was still unhealthy. But the official IPU had not crossed the 200 school-closure threshold.
That is how a parent can see "200+" on a phone while still being told that school is running as usual.
Which number should you actually look at?
It depends on what you are trying to find out.
If the question is:
"What does the air around me look like right now?"
IQAir can provide useful additional context, particularly when air quality is changing quickly.
But if the question is:
"Will my child's school close?"
Look at the official IPU on APIMS.
The basic categories are:
IPU 0–50: Good
IPU 51–100: Moderate
IPU 101–200: Unhealthy
IPU above 200: School-closure threshold
Schools must also stop outdoor activities once the official IPU exceeds 100.
Does that mean you should ignore IQAir?
No.
IQAir can still be useful if you want a more immediate view of changing air conditions or nearby sensor readings.
The important thing is not to read an IQAir AQI+ of 205 as though it were a Malaysian IPU of 205.
They are not the same measure.
So when IQAir says 200+ but school remains open, it does not necessarily mean the school is ignoring the haze.
Most likely, you and the school are looking at two different indices.
For your health, take the air conditions seriously. For the school-closure decision, check the official APIMS IPU.
KPM's haze guidance also says parents who are concerned about their child's health may choose not to send them to school, provided they inform the school.
This article reflects information available on 18 September 2026. Air-quality readings can change quickly.
Jerebu nampak teruk. Anda semak telefon. IQAir menunjukkan bacaan melebihi 200.
Tetapi sekolah anak anda masih dibuka.
Jadi apa sebenarnya yang berlaku?
Pada pagi 18 September, halaman Kuala Lumpur di IQAir bergerak ke paras melebihi 200 pada skala AQI+ AS, dengan beberapa sensor kejiranan turut menunjukkan bacaan melebihi 200. Pada masa yang hampir sama, laporan berdasarkan data rasmi Malaysia menunjukkan bacaan IPU tertinggi negara pada 6 pagi ialah 196 di Johan Setia, Selangor.
Kedua-duanya boleh benar pada masa yang sama kerana AQI+ IQAir bukan perkara yang sama dengan Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU) rasmi Malaysia.
Dan untuk penutupan sekolah, IPU rasmi Malaysia ialah angka yang digunakan.
Sekolah tidak menggunakan IQAir untuk menentukan penutupan
Malaysia mempunyai indeks kualiti udara rasminya sendiri: Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), yang diterbitkan oleh Jabatan Alam Sekitar melalui APIMS.
Kementerian Pendidikan mengingatkan institusi pendidikan pada 26 Ogos 2026 supaya memantau keadaan jerebu dan mematuhi garis panduan sedia ada.
Di bawah garis panduan KPM:
- Jika IPU rasmi melebihi 100, semua aktiviti luar bilik darjah yang melibatkan murid perlu dihentikan.
- Jika IPU rasmi melebihi 200, semua sekolah di kawasan atau daerah berkenaan hendaklah ditutup serta-merta.
Jadi bacaan 200+ di IQAir tidak secara automatik bermaksud sekolah perlu ditutup.
Ambang penutupan sekolah merujuk kepada IPU rasmi Malaysia.
Mengapa nombor IQAir boleh jauh lebih tinggi?
Kerana kedua-dua sistem tidak mengira kualiti udara dengan cara yang sama.
IQAir menggunakan AQI+, berasaskan kategori kualiti udara AS. Ia menggunakan purata pencemar setiap jam supaya bacaannya boleh bertindak balas dengan lebih cepat kepada perubahan keadaan udara.
Malaysia pula menggunakan metodologi IPU Jabatan Alam Sekitar.
JAS menerangkan bahawa IPU dikira daripada subindeks beberapa bahan pencemar, dan subindeks tertinggi menjadi bacaan IPU yang dilaporkan.
Tempoh purata juga berbeza mengikut bahan pencemar. Untuk PM2.5 dan PM10, JAS menggunakan purata 24 jam.
Ini penting ketika jerebu berubah dengan cepat.
Secara ringkas:
IQAir boleh bergerak lebih cepat apabila keadaan udara berubah.
IPU ialah ukuran rasmi Malaysia yang digunakan untuk tindakan kerajaan seperti penutupan sekolah.
Satu bacaan tidak semestinya bermaksud bacaan lain "salah". Ia hanyalah dua indeks yang berbeza.
Jadi kenapa IQAir muncul apabila anda Google "haze KL"?
Di sinilah kekeliruan mudah bermula.
Cari "KL haze", "KL air quality" atau "haze index KL" dan IQAir boleh muncul dengan sangat menonjol.
Mudah untuk menganggap bahawa nombor pertama yang anda lihat di Google ialah bacaan rasmi Malaysia.
Tetapi keputusan carian tidak berfungsi begitu.
Google menerangkan bahawa sistem carian menggunakan pelbagai isyarat untuk memilih halaman yang dianggap relevan dan berguna untuk sesuatu carian. Sumber kerajaan tidak dijamin berada di kedudukan pertama bagi setiap pertanyaan.
IQAir pula mempunyai halaman khusus untuk bandar, bacaan yang kerap dikemas kini, ramalan dan tajuk yang sepadan dengan apa yang ramai orang cari, seperti "Kuala Lumpur Air Quality Index".
Jadi jika IQAir berada di atas hasil carian anda, itu bermaksud Google memaparkan halaman yang dianggap relevan untuk carian tersebut.
Ia bukan bermaksud IQAir ialah indeks rasmi kerajaan Malaysia.
Cara mudah mengingatinya:
Teratas di Google ≠ indeks rasmi.
Untuk bacaan IPU rasmi Malaysia, semak APIMS Jabatan Alam Sekitar.
Contoh pagi ini
Perbezaannya jelas pada 18 September.
Halaman IQAir Kuala Lumpur menunjukkan bacaan bandar melebihi 200 pada waktu pagi, sementara beberapa sensor dalam bandar turut berada di atas 200.
Tetapi menurut RTM, setakat 6 pagi, 34 kawasan di Malaysia mencatat IPU tidak sihat dan bacaan tertinggi negara ialah 196 di Johan Setia.
Udara masih tidak sihat. Tetapi IPU rasmi masih belum melepasi ambang 200 untuk penutupan sekolah.
Itulah sebabnya seorang ibu bapa boleh melihat "200+" di telefon tetapi masih menerima mesej bahawa sekolah berjalan seperti biasa.
Nombor mana yang patut anda lihat?
Bergantung kepada soalan yang anda cuba jawab.
Jika soalannya:
"Bagaimana keadaan udara di sekitar saya sekarang?"
IQAir boleh memberi konteks tambahan yang berguna, terutamanya apabila kualiti udara berubah dengan cepat.
Tetapi jika soalannya:
"Adakah sekolah anak saya akan ditutup?"
Semak IPU rasmi di APIMS.
Panduan asasnya:
IPU 0–50: Baik IPU 51–100: Sederhana IPU 101–200: Tidak sihat IPU melebihi 200: Ambang penutupan sekolah
Sekolah juga perlu menghentikan aktiviti luar apabila IPU rasmi melebihi 100.
Adakah ini bermaksud anda patut abaikan IQAir?
Tidak.
IQAir masih boleh berguna jika anda mahu melihat perubahan keadaan udara dengan lebih segera atau bacaan sensor berdekatan.
Perkara penting ialah jangan membaca AQI+ 205 di IQAir seolah-olah ia adalah IPU Malaysia 205.
Kedua-duanya bukan ukuran yang sama.
Jadi apabila IQAir menunjukkan 200+ tetapi sekolah masih dibuka, ia tidak semestinya bermaksud sekolah mengabaikan jerebu.
Kemungkinan besar, anda dan pihak sekolah sedang melihat dua indeks yang berbeza.
Untuk kesihatan, ambil keadaan udara dengan serius. Untuk keputusan penutupan sekolah, semak IPU rasmi APIMS.
KPM juga menyatakan dalam garis panduan jerebu bahawa ibu bapa yang bimbang tentang kesihatan anak dibenarkan tidak menghantar mereka ke sekolah, dengan syarat pihak sekolah dimaklumkan.
