Asean to discuss tackling transboundary haze ahead of summit, says Malaysia
While Asean has mechanisms to address natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions, these do not cover haze.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan announced that he will personally address the transboundary haze issue with his Asean counterparts prior to the 49th summit in Manila next month. The haze has been a growing concern as forest and land fires have been raging in Indonesia for months, leading to thick haze in neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, which recently closed schools due to unhealthy air pollution levels.
These wildfires are the most intense in 11 years and occur mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Although Asean has mechanisms for addressing natural disasters like floods and volcanic eruptions, haze is not included in these protocols. Hasan emphasized that this will be one of the key topics during the upcoming summit. The Philippines, currently holding the Asean chair, has not yet confirmed if the haze issue will be on the agenda.
Malaysia has previously extended assistance to Indonesia in combating the fires, although efforts have been hampered by poor visibility, accessibility challenges, and unsuitable conditions for cloud seeding.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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