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]

Southeast Asian haze series
Haze in Borneo, 2019

1990s

2000s

2010s

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
  1. "The haze is back across South East Asia". BBC. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  2. Tan, Huileng. "Singapore air quality worsens overnight as Indonesia fire arrests jump". CNBC. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  3. Zaharia, Marius. "Smoke from Indonesian fires hits 'unhealthy' level in Singapore". Reuters. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. "Satellites Detect 365 Hotspots Across Sumatra". Tempo. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  5. "Haze is heading Singapore's way, Indonesia warns". Today. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  6. Endi, Severianus. "Residents' health at risk as haze lingers in W. Kalimantan". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. "Haze briefly crosses into unhealthy range in M'sia". Today. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. Goh, Melissa. "Malaysia offers Indonesia assistance to fight haze: Minister". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  9. Chew, Hui Min. "Singapore offers help to Indonesia to fight fires and haze as dry season starts". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  10. 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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