{
  "id": 15835200,
  "title": "Why won’t the rain wash away Malaysia’s haze? Experts explain what’s keeping the smoke coming",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/why-wont-the-rain-wash-away-malaysias-haze-experts-explain-whats-15835200",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/10/21/why-wont-the-rain-wash-away-malaysias-haze-experts-explain-whats-keeping-the-smoke-coming/239859"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Malaysia has been grappling with heavy rain and thunderstorms recently, yet the haze has refused to dissipate. Meteorological experts have explained that while rainfall can offer temporary relief, the ongoing haze is primarily due to transboundary smoke originating from Indonesia. Director-General Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) revealed that the current haze is a result of smoke from fire-affected regions in neighboring countries, carried into Malaysian airspace. Weak winds from diverse directions, occurring during the monsoon transition phase, are conducive to the formation of rain clouds and thunderstorms in the afternoon and early evening. However, the rainfall during this transition phase can only provide temporary relief to haze conditions. As long as winds continue blowing from the south, south-west, or west, smoke from Indonesia will persist in being carried into Malaysia, stated Professor Datuk Azizan Abu Samah of Universiti Malaya. The fires in Indonesia, particularly in Sumatra and Kalimantan, have been linked to a significant portion of the haze affecting Malaysia, with over 1.9 million hectares burned between January and the end of September this year. School closures and health concerns have arisen due to the worsening air quality in recent weeks. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed readiness to provide assistance to Indonesia in addressing the forest and land fires causing the transboundary haze. The effectiveness of rainfall in clearing haze depends on the scale and properties of pollutant particles and atmospheric conditions. Heavy rain might remove more pollutant particles from the atmosphere than brief, localized drizzle, but it does not guarantee that haze will completely disappear if smoke continues to be transported into Malaysia from fire-affected areas in neighboring countries. Mohd Hisham emphasized that the presence of a strong Super El Niño phenomenon could worsen weather conditions in the region, making it even more challenging to reduce haze.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Malaysia, particularly the Klang Valley, has been experiencing bouts of heavy rain and thun...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Why won’t the rain wash away Malaysia’s haze? Experts explain what’s keeping the smoke coming",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/why-wont-the-rain-wash-away-malaysias-haze-experts-explain-whats",
        "published": "2026-10-20T23:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}