(Oct 22): Schools in the northern states, which are badly affected by very unhealthy air, will remain closed tomorrow, the Education Ministry said in a statement today.

The ministry said 1,600 schools in Perlis, Penang and Perak with 728,739 students were affected by the directive, except for schools in Kedah that were normally closed on Fridays.

Schools in other states are to reopen tomorrow.

Air quality in the northern states of Penang, Kedah and Perlis has remained very unhealthy late afternoon today, with the air pollutant index (API) reading surpassing 200.

As of 4pm, six areas in the three states had very unhealthy air (201-300), while 22 other areas nationwide each had moderate (51-100) and unhealthy air (101-200).

The API readings for Penang at 4pm was 245 (Seberang Jaya 2), 210 (Universiti Sains Malaysia) and 187 (Prai). The readings only slightly improved from 8am's 262 and 228 for Seberang Jaya 2 and USM respectively.

In Kedah, the API was 240 in Alor Star, 249 in Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani, and 239 in Langkawi. Further north in Kangar, Perlis, the API read 235.

Kedah and Perlis saw little improvement in the API readings, compared to earlier in the day.

Many areas in Perak this morning are still recording unhealthy air quality. API readings remained high in Jalan Tasek, Ipoh (152), Kampung Air Putih, Taiping (155), SK Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh (172), Seri Manjung (170) and Tanjung Malim (127).

It is the same for Sri Aman (138) and Samarahan (123) in Sarawak; Kuala Selangor (150), Port Klang (155), and Shah Alam (132) in Selangor.

Bandaraya Melaka and Bukit Rambai in Malacca were recording unhealthy air earlier in the day, but the situation has improved. As of 4pm, the API for both locations were moderate at 97 and 98 respectively.

Among the 22 other areas with moderate air are Johor, Negri Sembilan, Kuantan and Jerantut in Pahang, and parts of Sabah and Sarawak. Only Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Labuan have good air, according to the API reading in the Department of Environment's website.

Meanwhile, schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor will reopen tomorrow, after being closed for four days due to smoke.

Schools in Negri Sembilan, Bentong, Pahang, Kuching, Sri Aman, Samarahan and Betong in Sarawak which were ordered to be closed today, will also be opened tomorrow.

"Schools also have to remind and advise their students to always take care of their health, by covering their mouths and nose when they are in school," the circular from the ministry said.

The smoke in Malaysia is caused by forest fires and burning in plantations in neighbouring Indonesia. It has forced thousands of schools to be closed several times now due to the bad air since last month. – The Malaysian Insider