TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesia steps up fire response as haze blankets Singapore
Change Size
An aerial picture shows thick smoke emanating from burned land in Putat village in Tanah Putih district, Rokan Hilir regency, Riau Islands on Aug 15. (Courtesy of the Riau Land and Forest Fire Post’s air task force/-)
Six Indonesian provinces have declared states of emergency as forest fires blanketed a swath of Southeast Asia in a smoky haze.
Singapore's air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels on Friday as winds blew smoke from fires on Sumatra across the city-state and into southern Malaysia.
The number of hotspots detected in Sumatra and Kalimantan by weather satellites has increased in the past month though they are below levels last year when massive fires in Indonesia caused a regional crisis.
Singapore's three-hour air pollution index had risen to 198 by early afternoon. Its environment agency doesn't give a health warning with the limited duration index, but on a 24-hour basis it says levels above 100 are unhealthy and above 200 very unhealthy.
"The smell of smoke woke me up. I thought something was burning outside," said Singaporean copywriter Lim Jia Ying, who put on a mask for her commute to work. "I'm having a cough and it's getting worse. Luckily, I found a face mask at home," she said.
Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency said six provinces have declared emergencies, allowing firefighting measures to go into full effect including aerial water drops.
The haze is an annual problem for Southeast Asia, but last year's fires were the worst since 1997, straining relations between Indonesia and its neighbors. About 261,000 hectares (644,931 acres) burned, causing billions of dollars in economic losses for Indonesia.
Many of the fires are deliberately set by agricultural conglomerates and small-time farmers to clear forests and peatland for plantations.
National police chief Tito Karnavian said Friday that 85 people have been arrested this year for starting fires.
About 2,800 hectares (6,918 acres) have burned so far this year, according to Indonesia's Forestry Ministry.
___
Associated Press writer Annabelle Liang in Singapore contributed to this report.
