The Jakarta Post
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.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsSingapore rolls out haze subsidies as Malaysia extends school closures
Singapore again ranked the world's most polluted city on Monday, according to Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir, as the fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands, intensified by a turbo-charged El Nino weather phenomenon, keep emitting toxic haze.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
A pedestrian wearing a mask walks along the boulevard at Marina bay as buildings are seen shrouded with haze in Singapore on October 12, 2026. Indonesia has been battling fires for weeks in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, sending suffocating haze across the islands and neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. (AFP/Roslan Rahman )
S
ingapore rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment Monday and schools were closed in parts of neighbouring Malaysia, as both countries grapple with persistently unhealthy air quality due to fires in nearby Indonesia.
Singapore again ranked the world's most polluted city on Monday, according to Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir, as the fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands, intensified by a turbo-charged El Nino weather phenomenon, keep emitting toxic haze.
The fires have created severe haze locally, with tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illnesses.
In Singapore, the government activated schemes on Monday that allow citizens to receive affordable care for haze-related conditions.
The subsidies cover conditions including "allergic rhinitis, asthma, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper respiratory tract infection, and their complications," the health ministry said in a statement late Sunday.
Treatment is capped at Sg$10 (under US$8) for most eligible Singaporeans, and Sg$5 for senior citizens aged 67 and above.
The city-state last activated its haze subsidy scheme in 2015, when smoke from Indonesian forest fires cloaked Southeast Asia in toxic smoke for weeks, driving up illnesses and leading to school closures and flight cancellations.
Read also: Pressure intensifies on Indonesia as regional haze worsens
In neighbouring Malaysia, schools reopened Monday in most areas as air quality improved slightly, but remained closed across southern Johor state and parts of the capital Kuala Lumpur and central Selangor state.
Indonesia regularly battles wildfires during the dry season, but the fires have intensified this year because of El Nino, set to be one of the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago.
Experts have also pointed to slash-and-burn land-clearing practices that have changed the naturally fire-resistant landscape.
The transboundary haze has also disrupted regional travel.
Malaysian low-cost carrier Firefly cancelled flights between Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport near Kuala Lumpur and Singapore's Seletar Airport from Saturday to Monday as a "precautionary safety measure", the airline said.
"Given the evolving weather situation, Firefly is monitoring developments closely. Further updates on flight schedules will be communicated directly to affected customers," Firefly said in a statement on Facebook.
