Heatwave forces closure of some Malaysian schools

KUALA LUMPUR — Schools in two northern Malaysian states are to be temporarily closed from Tuesday (March 22) until Wednesday after a punishing heatwave pushed temperatures above 37°C for more than three consecutive days, the Malaysian Education Ministry announced on Monday.

“The closures are a precautionary measure to protect the health of students during the hot weather,” said the education ministry in a statement, adding that the temporary school closures in the states of Kedah and Perlis, both located along the border with Thailand, would involve 853 schools and 413,786 students.

The ministry also stressed that the school closures – believed to be the first of its kind in the country due to an unprecedented heatwave – would only involve students, while teachers and school staff were still required to go to work.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the country’s Education Minister, Mahdzir Khalid, said that it would be decided on Wednesday if the schools are to remain closed due to the extremely hot weather – which has been largely blamed on the El Nino weather phenomenon.

The school closures, which would only be implemented if temperatures exceed 37°C for more than three consecutive days, were part of guidelines put in place last week by Malaysia’s Cabinet – which also approved the setting up of a special committee on the heatwave tasked to monitor the current situation.

Under the recently approved action plan, once temperatures in any area exceed 40°C for seven or more days, Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency will declare a heatwave emergency, and announce emergency measures, which have yet to be specified.

Malaysian media reported Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Wilfred Madius Tangau as saying over the weekend that the heatwave is expected to last until June instead of April as previously reported.

The heatwave has seen temperatures soaring to as high as 38.5°C in some areas, with the worst affected being Penang, Kedah and Perlis. Extremely low rainfall has also been recorded in Sabah and Sarawak.

In Malaysia, a heatwave threshold is defined as a daily temperature of 35°C for five consecutive days and exceeding the long-term average maximum temperature by 2°C.

The last time Malaysian schools were closed was at the height of last year’s transboundary haze in September and October – when air quality reached unhealthy levels across many Malaysian states. On 24 Sep 2015, as air quality levels threatened to enter hazardous levels, Singapore’s Ministry of Education also took the unprecedented step of closing primary and secondary schools for a day.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, Singapore’s Ministry of Education said on Monday that it sent out a circular reminding schools to look after the well-being of teachers and students when they are engaged in outdoor physical activities, following the advisory by the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) last week that Singapore should expect very warm temperatures until the end of the month.

A spokesperson said: “Sustained outdoor activities should be minimised during the hotter period of the day and the intensity of these activities moderated. Teachers and students are encouraged to drink appropriate amount of fluids to prevent heat injuries, with appropriate rest and water breaks considered.”

Last Tuesday, the MSS said maximum temperatures are expected to stay between 33°C and 34°C, and could reach a high of around 36°C on a few days until the end of the month. AGENCIES, WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOUISA TANG