Dangerous haze pushes West Kalimantan classrooms online
Wildfire haze remained dangerous across West Kalimantan on September 7 despite rainfall. Pontianak schools stayed online, while neighbouring Kubu Raya extended remote learning through September 9 as PM2.5 reached 518.1 micrograms per cubic metre. The local decisions show that classroom teaching will remain suspended until officials judge the air safe.
Science··Night
Rain did not clear the thick haze
Although rain fell across a broad area of Pontianak, wildfire haze remained thick on September 7 and officials continued to rate the air dangerous. According to ANTARA, the city maintained its decision not to resume in-person teaching until the air became safe, so schools kept classes online. Officials were monitoring weather and pollution measurements, but rainfall alone had not provided a basis for reopening classrooms. The decision was a local administrative response to air conditions observed that day, not a forecast of a future hazard.[2], [1]
Kubu Raya extended remote learning through September 9
In neighbouring Kubu Raya, the education office extended remote learning through September 9. Pontianak Post's local report gives a PM2.5 reading of 518.1 micrograms per cubic metre and places air quality in the dangerous category. The district instructed schools facing online-access problems to coordinate with supervisors and said the teaching mechanism would continue to be adjusted to field conditions. Separate decisions in Pontianak and Kubu Raya show that disruption from the same West Kalimantan haze episode was not confined to one city.[3], [2]
The fires set the context for school decisions
According to the AFP report published by Phys.org, more than 285,000 hectares burned across Indonesia during the year, including 38,000 hectares in West Kalimantan. PM2.5 readings in the province passed 500 micrograms per cubic metre at some locations, while about 200,000 students moved to home learning. That wider picture explains why local school decisions were not immediately reversed after a day of rain. The observed findings remain limited to air pollution and education measures: the reports do not assign responsibility for a particular fire, establish the cause of an individual health outcome or set a certain reopening date.[1], [2], [3]
