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View all search resultsHaze besieges Southeast Asia as Indonesia’s wildfires blaze away
On Wednesday morning, seven air monitoring stations across the metropolitan area of Philippine capital Manila recorded “unhealthy levels” of PM2.5 pollutant particulate, according to the country’s Environment and Natural Resources Department (DENR).
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A thick haze shrouds Metro Manila in this drone picture taken in Quezon City, the Philippines on Sept. 1, 2026, due to smoke from ongoing forest and land fires in Indonesia's Kalimantan. (Reuters/Adrian Portugal)
T
oxic haze from forest and land fires in Indonesia have drifted further into neighboring countries as far as the Philippines and triggered public health alerts in some major cities, as experts forecast it may also reach mainland Southeast Asian countries.
On Wednesday morning, seven air monitoring stations across the metropolitan area of Philippine capital Manila recorded “unhealthy levels” of PM2.5 pollutant particulate, according to the country’s Environment and Natural Resources Department (DENR).
“The observed haze is possibly associated with smoke and transboundary haze from ongoing fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which may have been transported toward the Philippines by prevailing winds,” the DENR said in a statement posted in its official Facebook account on Wednesday.
The administration of Quezon City, the most populous area in Metro Manila, issued on Tuesday a circular suspending all in-person classes and ordering public and private schools to turn to remote learning until further notice.
Air quality has also worsened in other parts of the Philippines, such as Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Central Visayas.
Warnings from Philippine authorities marked the latest episode of cross-border haze linked to the widespread land and forest burning in Indonesia.
Read also: Sarawak eyes cloud seeding as haze worsens
