Worst haze from Indonesia in 4 years hits neighbors hard

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Worst haze from Indonesia in 4 years hits neighbors hard

By Nopporn Wong-Anan
SINGAPORE | Thu Oct 21, 2010 9:03am EDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Illegal forest clearing fires in Indonesia's Sumatra Island are sending haze across the Malacca Strait to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, causing the worst air pollution since 2006, officials said on Thursday.

Despite pledge among governments to deter fires, the haze prompted Malaysia to alert vessels in the Malacca Strait of poor visibility as short as 2 nautical miles and shut many schools.

Singapore, covered in thick smoke this week, saw its air pollution index hit the highest level since 2006 on Wednesday. The port and international airport are still functioning as normal.

"The suspicion is that this is coming from forests that have been opened up for plantations. We think it may be for palm oil," Purwasto Saroprayogi, head of the land and forest fires department at Indonesia's Environment Ministry, told Reuters.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69K1WF20101021

 

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Re: Worst haze from Indonesia in 4 years hits neighbors hard

Haze Blanketing Singapore Prompts Complaint at Indonesia Fires

<CITE class=byline>By Shamim Adam -<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>document.write(dateFormat(new Date(1287623052000),"mmm d, yyyy h:MM TT Z"));</SCRIPT> Oct 20, 2010 8:04 PM CT <NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></CITE>

Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore's minister of Environment. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Singapore?s environment minister reminded Indonesia to deal with the recurring problem of forest fires on the island of Sumatra after a bout of smoke haze covered Singapore and western Malaysia.

?This is not the first time that we have informed the Indonesians that they should pay attention to the hotspots both in Sumatra and Borneo,? Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore?s Environment and Water Resources Minister, said yesterday. ?We are a bit disappointed that this is happening.?

He said should the situation worsen, officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may hold a meeting to discuss which steps to take. ??We cannot take this matter lightly,?? Ibrahim told reporters according to a transcript of his remarks released by his ministry.

Smoke from forest fires mainly in Indonesia clouds parts of Southeast Asia every year as farmers on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra clear land by burning trees and bushes. Pollution levels reached hazardous levels in Malaysia yesterday. In 1997 and 1998, smoke haze caused economic losses of almost $9 billion as tourism fell and health-care costs rose.
An Asean website that monitors the fires shows that southwesterly to westerly winds are carrying the smoke haze to West Malaysia and Singapore.

"Persons with existing heart or respiratory ailments should reduce physical exertion and outdoor activity," the National Environment Agency of Singapore said on its website.

Closed Malaysian Schools

The so-called 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index reading reached 80 yesterday, compared with as low as 23 at the beginning of the month.

The three-hour reading as of 8 a.m. today was 72. A PSI reading of less than 50 is considered "good," 51 to 100 is "moderate" and higher than 101 is "unhealthy," according to the agency. A reading of more than 300 is "hazardous."

Schools in the Muar area of Malaysia?s southern Johor state were advised to temporarily close because the haze reached a ?hazardous? level, Bernama reported today, citing Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Air Pollutant Index reached 400 yesterday which is considered ?dangerous,? the report said, citing Muhyiddin, who is also education minister.

Muhyiddin yesterday chaired a meeting of the National Security Council on the haze situation in Muar, it said. A haze- monitoring operations room was opened in the district, according to the national news service.

?On many occasions we have told the Indonesians to take extra measures to ensure that this does not recur,? Yaacob said. ?If things worsen, we will probably register our concern again, perhaps on even stronger terms to our Indonesian colleagues.?

To contact the reporter on this story: Shamim Adam in Singapore at sadam2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...esia-to-deal-with-haze-from-forest-fires.html