Frequent changes in information and miscommunication have compounded concerns, report Peng Yining in Kuala Lumpur, and Hu Yongqi and Wang Wen in Beijing.

The Klang Valley, comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, is blanketed in haze, mainly caused by open peat fires. Even after shutting the windows and blocking the gaps below and around the door, the choking smog permeates the room. The high level of airborne pollution has seen local schools closed all week.

But the smoky air blurring the outline of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers seems particularly appropriate at the moment. The ongoing search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is still shrouded in a mystery far thicker than the clouds of pollution that hang over the Malaysian capital.