Singapore’s air worst since 2019 as haze blankets region

On Tuesday, Singapore was enveloped in a haze caused by smoke from Indonesian wildfires, leading to unhealthy air quality levels across all five regions, a situation not witnessed since September 2019, according to the National Environment Agency. This marked the city-state as one of the 10 most polluted cities globally, with Malaysia and Indonesia also among the top spots.

Indonesia has experienced a surge in wildfires this year, with over 9,000 recorded in August and more than 7,000 in September, the highest monthly figures since 2015. The situation is worsened by the strengthening El Niño weather pattern, which brings drier weather to the region. The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre forecasts that the hotspot and haze situation will persist, with a continued risk of transboundary smoke haze.

Air quality in parts of Indonesia’s Kalimantan and Sumatra regions, where the fires are concentrated, was deemed dangerous or very unhealthy as of Tuesday. Malaysia has faced its share of the problem, with choking haze prompting the government to relocate its leader’s National Day speech indoors. A state of emergency was declared for part of Sarawak state earlier in the month.

The country’s forestry ministry attributes this year’s surge in forest fires to a combination of El Niño-driven dry weather and human-caused ignition. Indonesia has ramped up aerial firefighting operations, including with helicopters provided by Japan. Malaysia has also offered assistance in tackling the blazes. The El Niño weather pattern, which has a 75% chance of becoming a historic event, is expected to persist, potentially easing fire risks for a short period, although forecast confidence remains lower.

The dry weather is also impacting the mining and agriculture industries in Indonesia, with a nickel producer halting a ramp-up of one of its processing plants due to water shortages.