Months-long Indonesia wildfires spew toxic haze across Southeast Asia
Parts of southern Southeast Asia have been put under the highest-level haze alert as wildfires that have swept Indonesia for months continue to belch toxic smoke across the region. The seasonal wildfires are worse this year due to the drought conditions caused by a severe "super-El Nino" effect.
Seasonal wildfires in Indonesia, intensified by a severe super-El Niño drought, have produced a months-long pollution spell across southern Southeast Asia. The toxic haze has reached unhealthy to very unhealthy levels, affecting Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and East Timor. According to Malay Mail, the pollution has restricted outdoor activities, closed schools, and caused a surge in respiratory conditions in humans and animals.
IQAir ranked Singapore and Kuala Lumpur among the world's five most polluted major cities as fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo continue. NDTV reports that air purifier sales have increased since air quality began to dip in August.
In response to the fires, Indonesia deployed 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra province between October 15 and 16 to disperse thick haze near Palembang's Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport. Berton Panjaitan of the National Disaster Management Agency stated that visibility at the airport improved from 1,000m to as much as 3,000m during the operation, though he noted further research is required to confirm if the dry ice caused the change.
Meanwhile, conservation efforts are underway to save wildlife; the West Kalimantan conservation agency and YIARI reported evacuating 51 orangutans between August 6 and October 19, while Indonesia’s forestry ministry suggested the number of rescued animals in Kalimantan could be as high as 96.
The crisis has led to regional political tension. The Independent Singapore reports that Syahganda Nainggolan, chief of Indonesia’s government communications agency, drew criticism for describing the haze as a natural phenomenon rather than human error and stating that Indonesia's forests provide oxygen to Singapore and Malaysia when there are no fires. In response to the crisis, Malaysia has offered Indonesia firefighting assistance, closed schools, and requested an urgent ASEAN meeting.
Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, NDTV, Malay Mail, The Independent Singapore, Channel News Asia — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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