Francis Chan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 4 Oct 15;
The transboundary haze crisis, which has sent air pollution levels soaring, is on course to set a new precedent with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) the latest to say it could become one of the worst on record.
Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan - one of the hardest hit by smoke from raging forest fires in Indonesia - yesterday had a Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) level that hit 1,936. In Indonesia, a PSI reading of 350 and above is considered hazardous.
It takes a far lower reading for schools to be closed. Thousands of troops and policemen have been deployed to fight forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra, the other island where fires are burning on peatlands starved of moisture due to the lack of rain.
The Indonesian national police have arrested hundreds of suspects and started probes into several plantation firms in connection with the use of outlawed slash-and-burn techniques to clear land.
Canals with dams in fire-prone areas are being built to prevent peatlands from drying out in the dry season.
These measures, observers told The Straits Times earlier this week, are by far the most wide-ranging effort by any Indonesian government in dealing with the annual haze crisis since 1997.
However, Nasa warns that the prolonged dry season ahead means air pollution levels in the region may be among the worst on record.
"Conditions in Singapore and south-eastern Sumatra are tracking close to 1997," said Dr Robert Field, a Columbia University scientist based at Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in an Agence France-Presse report yesterday.
"If the forecasts for a longer dry season hold, this suggests 2015 will rank among the most severe events on record."
Climate experts here have said the dry weather will continue to pose the greatest challenge in the fight against the haze.
Most agree with Dr Field, noting that the extreme dry weather during this El Nino season will continue to cause peatlands to burn more readily.
Palangkaraya-based weather forecaster Roland Binery told The Straits Times that the haze in the area worsened again yesterday because there were new fires developing and spreading in the Tumbang Nusa and Pulang Pisau areas.
"The prevailing wind blew from the south carrying the smoke from there to Palangkaraya," he said.
Singapore's Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) said yesterday that it had reiterated on Thursday the country's offer of help to tackle the fires, including providing aircraft to conduct water bombing and cloud-seeding operations.
"Indonesia clarified at the meeting that it had enough resources of its own and did not need to call on the assistance offered by Singapore at this time," said MEWR, referring to the high-level meeting between Singapore and Indonesia on Thursday, initiated by the Indonesian government.
Kuala Lumpur marathon cancelled as city turns grey with smog
AFP AsiaOne 4 Oct 15;
KUALA LUMPUR - One of Malaysia's biggest marathons was cancelled on Saturday over fears the health of more than 30,000 runners was at risk from thick smoke caused by Indonesian forest fires that have sparked a regional environmental crisis.
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Organisers of the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon set for Sunday said it would not be held due to worsening air quality in Kuala Lumpur, which was shrouded in an acrid grey haze from the slash-and-burn fires.
The haze has afflicted large swathes of Southeast Asia for weeks, sparking health alerts,school shutdowns and affecting flights.
Robert Field, a Columbia University scientist based at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been quoted by the space agency as saying that a possible longer dry season might make the 2015 haze crisis "the most severe on record".
Scientists predict the current crisis could surpass 1997 levels, when out-of-control fires sent pollution soaring to record highs in an environmental disaster that cost an estimated US$9.0 billion.
The fires on plantations and peatlands that are being illegally cleared by burning are located on Indonesia's huge islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Close to half of Malaysia's 52 pollutant monitoring stations around the country, including those in the capital, registered "unhealthy" air quality on Saturday.
"The health and safety of all our runners remains our top priority," organisers of the marathon, with prize money at US$120,000, said in a statement on their website.
Runners applauded the cancellation of Kuala Lumpur's 42.2-kilometre marathon, with some taking digs at Indonesia over the mess.
"This cancelation needs an apology from (the) Indonesian government as well," read one comment on Facebook.
Another social media remark read: "Wise decision by the organisers. No one wants to cancel a big event like this but the air quality is really bad. Safety of runners is of paramount importance."
The annual Kuala Lumpur race has gained popularity since it started in 2009 with more participants from overseas taking part over the years.
Indonesia under pressure to control forest fires cloaking the country and its neighbours in smoke
Forests deliberately set alight for agriculture have caused pollution beyond state’s borders, which has now reached dangerous levels
Charlie Cooper The Guardian 3 Oct 15;
Pressure is mounting on Indonesia to control forest fires that continue to cloak the country and its South-east Asian neighbours in a choking haze. US Space agency Nasa is warning that the smog could be one of the worst on record. Despite Indonesian government efforts to contain the fires, which are deliberately started by companies using “slash and burn” techniques to clear land for agriculture, this year’s haze has been exacerbated by unusually dry conditions. Once started, fires can spread many miles from their source and are fuelled by peat-rich soils.
According to the Global Fire Emissions Database, this year’s burn has produced 600m tons of greenhouse gases – equivalent to what industrialised Germany produces in carbon dioxide annually.
The extent of the haze is now polluting relations between Jakarta and its neighbours, who are also suffering.
In the past month, pollution readings in Singapore have hit levels considered dangerous. Throughout the region, schools have been periodically closed, flights grounded and the elderly issued with pollution masks as smog levels spike. In Pekanbaru, in Sumatra’s Riau province, one of the worst-hit areas, a makeshift clinic for new-born babies was set up in an air-conditioned room in the mayor’s office. Malaysia evacuated 173 of its citizens from the region last month. The conditions have prompted protests outside Indonesia’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Nasa satellite evidence revealed particle levels similar to the peak of the last major haze event in 2006. “If the forecasts for a longer dry season hold, this suggests 2015 will rank among the most severe on record,” said Dr Robert Field at Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Indonesia has repeatedly faced calls from its neighbours to control the fires. This year, 20,000 troops have been deployed to Sumatra and the country’s Kalimantan territory on Borneo, using water-bombing and even chemically-induced rainfall to help control the fires.
Wildlife has also come under threat, with orang-utan sanctuaries reporting a rise in the number of rescued animals, left stranded and without food by fires.
Dr Karmele Llano Sanchez, veterinary director at International Animal Rescue’s sanctuary in Kalimantan, Indonesia, said the fires were also making it easier for hunters to find and trap infant orang-utans for the illegal pet trade.
Campaigners’ hopes for a legal crackdown on the fires in Indonesia have been raised by the government’s successful case last month against palm oil company PT Kallista Alam, which was forced to pay $25.6m (£17.5m) in compensation for illegal burning.
