Acrid smoke hung heavily over the Malaysian town of Serian, seeping into homes and cloaking roadside stalls, as residents navigated an air‑quality emergency fuelled by transboundary haze from Indonesia's raging fires.Malaysia declared a state of emergency in Sarawak state's Serian district on Borneo island on Friday, after air pollution readings reached critical levels.
Toxic haze has shrouded parts of Indonesia and Malaysia for weeks as Jakarta struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Kalimantan and Sumatra, with the plumes drifting into neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
In Serian, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Sarawak's capital Kuching, residents tried to carry on with weekend routines but said the thick haze forced them to plan shorter trips to avoid the worst of the smoke.
"I rarely leave the house when it's like this (the haze). I only come out to buy food and groceries, then I'll immediately head home," said Ajen Anak Kunok, 64, a local retired technician.
Ajen told AFP he had spent the past week battling shortness of breath and a sore throat due to the ongoing haze, before going to the hospital Saturday for treatment.
