2016 Southeast Asian haze
The 2016 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis which affected several countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.[1][2]
The haze was caused by Indonesian agricultural fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.[1] The fires are attributed to illegal slash-and-burn practices by companies and individual farmers, which remove vegetation to make way for plantations of palm oil, pulp and paper.[1][2][3]
On 17 August, 365 hot spots were detected on Indonesia's Sumatra island, with 278 in the province of Riau.[4] On 18 August, 158 hot spots were detected in the province of West Kalimantan.[5] By 26 August, six Indonesian provinces had declared a state of emergency due to the fires: Central Kalimantan, Jambi, Riau, South Kalimantan, South Sumatra and West Kalimantan.[6] Indonesia has reported arresting around 450 people in 2016 for their connections with the fires.[1][2]
On 17 August 2016, Malaysia's Air Pollutant Index first surpassed the 'unhealthy' level of 100 for the region's dry season.[7] On 24 August, Malaysia offered to dispatch two Bombardier 415 fire-fighting aircraft if Indonesia would officially request help to tackle the fires.[8]
In June 2016, Singapore offered Indonesia a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft for cloud seeding, as well as a Singapore Civil Defence Force fire-fighting team, and assistance in providing satellite pictures and determining the coordinates of fires.[9] On 26 August 2016, Singapore's 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) entered the 'unhealthy' range of above 100, while its 3-hour PSI reached 215.[1][10]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e "The haze is back across South East Asia". BBC. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ a b c Tan, Huileng. "Singapore air quality worsens overnight as Indonesia fire arrests jump". CNBC. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Zaharia, Marius. "Smoke from Indonesian fires hits 'unhealthy' level in Singapore". Reuters. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Satellites Detect 365 Hotspots Across Sumatra". Tempo. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Haze is heading Singapore's way, Indonesia warns". Today. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Endi, Severianus. "Residents' health at risk as haze lingers in W. Kalimantan". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Haze briefly crosses into unhealthy range in M'sia". Today. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Goh, Melissa. "Malaysia offers Indonesia assistance to fight haze: Minister". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Chew, Hui Min. "Singapore offers help to Indonesia to fight fires and haze as dry season starts". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Md Noh, Nurulnadiah; Tan, Audrey. "Haze update: PSI for next 24 hours forecast to be in unhealthy range, says NEA". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
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- Southeast Asian haze
- 2016 in Southeast Asia
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