[62] Putrajaya and Selangor also announce the closure of 25 and 138 schools respectively for the 17th of September as the haze situation worsened in those areas. Most of these banks are from Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, that have funded billions of dollars towards deforestation for oil palm and pulp and paper industries. Indonesia will respect international law as Singapore investigates forest fires causing haze pollution Jun 29, 2020, 1:58 pm Learning from past year's forest fires in South-east Asia Amid concerns about the possibility of haze affecting next weekend's Formula 1 race at the Marina Bay street circuit, organisers Singapore GP said this was one of the potential issues covered in its contingency plans. [13], On 7 September 2019, Brunei experienced haze, which its government attributed to hot spots across the Indonesian border in the Kalimantan provinces of Borneo. Kalimantan is home to many of the region's orangutans. [9], According to the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre, most of the hotspots for Indonesia and Malaysia occurred in August and September 2019. [56][57] The President also threatens to sack firefighters if the forest fires are not tackled immediately.
[77], Thailand's Nakhon Si Thammarat Province Governor Chamroen Tippayaponthada has offered a ฿5,000 reward for evidence leading to the arrest of anyone suspected of starting the forest fires in the province. On 14 September, Pollutants Standards Index (PSI) levels in Singapore went beyond the 100 mark for the first time in three years, though it's yet to reach the hazardous levels of 2015. [49] The Air Quality Index in Phuket reached about 158 as of 9am on 23 September 2019. When air quality is at the unhealthy range, people – especially children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with heart or lung conditions – should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. [6], In 2019, fires have been burning in multiple provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan within Indonesia. In 2015, the PSI level in Singapore was at 341 - schools were forced to close and several fast-food chains suspended their delivery services. They often spin out of control and spread into protected forested areas. [78], It has been suggested that this article be, Haze over the Southeast Asia region in mid-2019, Response from authorities and joint agreement, CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, "Indonesian police arrest hundreds linked to forest fires", "Monthly Hotspot Count for Year 2019 - North ASEAN", "Thailand's North choking on toxic haze from fires", "Weeks of Fire Destroyed Almost 14,500 Rai of Forest and Farms in Southern Thailand", "Illegally planted palm oil already growing on burnt land in Indonesia", "Asian banks give billions to firms linked to deforestation, study finds", "Indonesia steps up fight against fires as hot spots increase", https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/geography/research/projects/tropical-peatland/downloadable-resources/peatland-drainage, "Monthly Hotspot Count for Year 2019 - South ASEAN", "Annual Hotspot Count (2019-2019) - South ASEAN", "Malaysian PM Mahathir to contact Indonesian President Joko over transboundary haze", "Forest fires flare up again in parts of Sarawak", "Haze from forest fires, Indonesia's national 'embarrassment', is back", "In pictures: Wildfires ignite across Indonesia", "Experts: Indonesia forest fires may not be extinguished any time soon", As Amazon Smolders, Indonesia Fires Choke the Other Side of the World, Indonesia forest fires spark blame game as smoke closes hundreds of Malaysia schools, "Rain sweeps through Sumatra, Kalimantan, gives respite from haze", "Nearly 900,000 Indonesians suffer breathing issues due to haze", "40ha of Pahang forest, peat land on fire [NSTTV]", "The haze is making a comeback in August, and some Malaysian regions are already affected", "More hotspots in Kalimantan may bring widespread transboundary haze to S'wak", "2.4ha of forest burnt near Johor Legoland Theme Park", "Haze-inspired Spotify list re-emerges as situation worsens", "As Indonesia's forests burn, haze clouds parts of Visayas, Mindanao", "Cebu air quality worsens due to haze from Indonesia", "S'pore may experience slightly hazy conditions in the next few days: NEA", "Slight haze on Monday as PSI inches towards unhealthy range with more hot spots in Sumatra", "Explainer: Confused over AQI, PSI, PM2.5?
PM2.5 is a measure of tiny particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter in the air.
The burnt land also becomes drier, which makes it more likely to catch fire the next time there are slash-and-burn clearings. [43][44][45] This resulted in the National Environment Agency (NEA) forecasting healthy PSI readings since the haze first hit Singapore two weeks ago. ", Follow us on Telegram for the latest on the haze: https://cna.asia/telegram. "The plan was formulated and refined with stake holders, government bodies and the Formula One community," Singapore GP said in an emailed statement to AFP. [66] The number of schools closed kept increasing steadily,[67] with the total number of schools closed peaking at 2,459, affecting about 1,732,842 students as of 11pm on 18 September 2019.[68]. At 4pm on Saturday, the 24-hour PSI reading in the western part of Singapore breached the 100 mark to hit 103.
Indonesia began to experience haze between June and July. The Malaysian Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry said they wanted concerted efforts taken in accordance with the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution ratified by member countries. Peatlands in these areas are extremely vulnerable to combustion because they are originally wetlands and rarely ever burn. Media playback is unsupported on your device, One of many forests in Riau province that are ablaze, Many in Singapore are wearing special masks to combat the haze, Not everyone in Palangkaraya can afford a high quality mask, In Palangkaraya, visibility is extremely poor, Borneo orangutans have suffered as their homes are burnt, Palm oil plantations are big money in Indonesia. Indonesia has been dumping millions of litres of water in affected areas and has sent in the army to help fire fighters. There have also been cases of open burning in neighbouring Malaysia, though it pales in comparison to Indonesia.