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Haze crisis returns to ASEAN
Indonesia says transboundary haze has not reached neighbors
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Thick smoke emanates from hectares of land burned down in Riau. (thejakartapost.com/Rizal Harahap)
H
aving only just recovered from its worst haze crisis in 2015, Indonesia has been ramping up efforts to mitigate the impacts of forest and land fires across the country. These efforts seem to be bearing fruit as the country has yet to suffer large-scale wildfires since then.
Recent reports, however, have claimed that a haze crisis has erupted in Riau and also in Malaysia, with Kuala Lumpur pointing its finger at forest fires in Sumatra as the main culprit. Malaysia-based newspaper.
The Star reported on Friday that the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) had detected haze over Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan and Penang, claiming that the smoke had come from forest fires in Riau.
“The haze is caused by a moderate amount of smog moving from hot spots in the central and southern parts of Sumatra due to the southwest monsoon winds,” MetMalaysia director general Jailan Simon said as quoted by The Star.
Malaysia’s Department of Environment said the Air Pollution Index (API) at Klang and Rompin in Pahang measured above 100, which is classified as “unhealthy”.
Meanwhile, other regions, such as Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya, also saw an increase in the pollution index. The department also attributed the smog to haze coming from forest and land fires in Indonesia.
Commenting on the matter, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was quoted by The Straits Times as saying that it “remained worrying that the total number of hotspots this year had exceeded that of the same period last year, [...] despite the strong political will of ASEAN member states in tackling the problem”.
