Indonesian wildfires drive highest-level haze alert across Southeast Asia

The short version

• France 24 reports that months-long wildfires in Indonesia are sending toxic haze across Southeast Asia.[France 24]
• The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre raised southern ASEAN to Alert Level 3, the highest of four tiers.[France 24]
• Reported school closures and respiratory illness affect Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.[France 24]
• A severe super-El Nino drought is cited as the cause of the worse season, and burned-area estimates differ.[France 24]

Key facts

• The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre activated Alert Level 3 for southern ASEAN, the highest of four alert tiers.[France 24]
• The wildfires are reported to be worse this year due to drought conditions linked to a severe super-El Nino effect.[France 24]
• Auriga reported more than 637,000 hectares burned from January to August, while Nusantara Atlas put the figure at nearly 900,000 hectares.[France 24]
• The months-long pollution has closed schools, fuelled a surge in respiratory conditions and restricted outdoor activities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.[France 24]
• On Saturday, Singapore ranked second on IQAir's live ranking of the world's most polluted major cities, behind Baghdad, with Kuala Lumpur third.[France 24]
• Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency said 2.4 tonnes of dry ice were dispersed by plane at a South Sumatra airport in an attempt to disperse the haze.[France 24]
• Singapore said it would issue warnings to seven Indonesian companies it identified as responsible for the fires.[France 24]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Months-long Indonesia wildfires spew toxic haze across Southeast AsiaFrance 24
• Singapore expands crackdown on Indonesian companies linked to hazeAssociated Press