SE Asian haze at critical level
SE Asia’s haze, caused by dry season jungle clearing and crop waste, reached critical levels today. Visibility in some parts of Sumatra was down to 50 meters, and in Singapore the air pollution index was at 127 (over 100 is unhealthy). Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.
Indonesian brush fires cause flight cancelations, health warnings
JAKARTA (AP): Brush fires on Indonesia’s Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra islands caused flight cancelations and health warnings Monday, prompting appeals for the central government to intensify measures against the haze that has reached Singapore and Malaysia.
Neighboring Southeast Asian nations on Friday called on Indonesia to swiftly ratify a regional treaty to fight cross-border haze, saying they would delay financial assistance if it does not.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar told The Associated Press on Monday it was only a matter of time until legislators amended laws needed to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
“We are not alone in fighting the haze,” he said.
Meanwhile, smoke from more than 100 fires on Sumatra’s Jambi province Monday reduced visibility to less than 50 meters, said local government official Donny Osmon.
“The condition was so bad that officials were forced to close the airport today for safety’s sake,” he said.
Malaysia said it had a worsening of air quality Monday as smoke returned to its skies over the weekend.
“The haze has become dangerous to people’s health,” said Jambi Governor Zulkifli Nurdin, who asked Jakarta to increase its efforts to stop the blazes with cloud seeding and airborne firefighters.
Local officials praised the steps taken by environmental ministers from Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore to pressure Indonesia to ratify the haze agreement, but a leading local environmental organization said it failed to adopt adequate preventive measures.
“It failed to come up with a concrete agenda both in the short- and long-term,” said Chalid Muhammad, executive director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum.
Indonesia should have proposed emergency laws to empower the government to revoke permits from plantation companies found to be using illegal cut-and-burn methods, he said.
Here in ali skies are clear. Thankfully the winds blow the smog to the north, which is away from us.