The Nation/ANN AsiaOne 8 Oct 15;
The Foreign Ministry is exploring all possible means, including diplomacy, in its bid to tackle the spread of haze into southern Thailand from agricultural fires in neighbouring Indonesia.
"We would like to assure people living in Thailand's South and anyone affected by the haze that we are doing our best," Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday, as smog levels continued to threaten the health of residents as well as disrupt flights in many southern provinces.
Indonesian Ambassador Lutfi Rauf separately confirmed that he would meet with Thai officials at the Foreign Ministry at 11am today. Don said his ministry would express concern about the smog's impact during the meeting.
He added that he would also seek the co-operation of haze-affected neighbours such as Malaysia in joining discussions with Indonesia.
Flights to the southern provinces of Songkhla, Krabi and Phuket were delayed amid thick haze yesterday.
Several planes were forced to circle for 20 minutes to an hour before landing as they waited for improved visibility.
Visibility on roads was also significantly reduced, with motorists in Songkhla saying they could see no more than 200 metres. In Phatthalung province, road visibility was down to less than 500 metres.
The level of particulate matter up to 10 microns in size (PM10) also rose beyond the safe limit of 120 micrograms in many parts of the South.
Phuket recorded levels of 163 micrograms while Krabi saw 130 micrograms. Complaints of eye irritation, skin irritation and respiratory problems have risen dramatically across the region in recent days.
Only one-third of children turned up at the Phuket City Municipality's nursery yesterday, as parents took precautions against the smog.
"Most children have fallen sick, so the parents have kept them at home," a nursery teacher said.
Elsewhere, Satun Primary Education Office chief Nisit Chaiphak said he had instructed the directors of 161 primary schools in the southern province to temporarily close if the smog level worsened.
In Trang province, shops on Pakmeng beach were all shuttered as tourists stayed away.
Local entrepreneurs are complaining about the economic impact of the haze.
"My friends and I reckon we will have to close our shops until the smog eases," said Wanna Suansri, a shop owner in the smog-blanketed province of Phatthalung. "Even when we open, there's no customers anyway."
Masks given out as haze blankets southern Thailand
Tan Hui Yee, Straits Times AsiaOne 8 Oct 15;
The authorities in southern Thailand have distributed face masks and urged residents to stay indoors as forest fires in Indonesia pushed air quality to unhealthy levels this week.
The worst-hit provinces yesterday were Phuket, Songkhla and Satun, where state monitoring stations recorded particulate matter in the air beyond the country's acceptable level of 120 micrograms (mcg) per cubic metre.
The PM10 level - or the amount of particulate matter equal to or less than 10 micrometres in diameter - was worst in the south-western Satun province. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the 24-hour average reading there at 3pm yesterday was 187 mcg per cubic m. This was followed by Songkhla, with a reading of 156, and Phuket, at 146.
The thick smoke, aided by the wind, has also blanketed parts of Malaysia and Singapore.
Local reports say a crowd of about 20 people gathered at the Indonesian consulate in Songkhla yesterday morning and submitted a letter urging Jakarta to take responsibility and tackle the haze.
"We are not here to condemn anybody, but as we know that the origin of this haze is from Indonesia, we ask the Indonesian government to solve this problem," spokesman Bunchon Vichiensri told reporters. "This problem affects not only us, but the whole region."
The vice-governor of Songkhla, Mr Anuchit Trakulmututa, told The Straits Times he was considering requesting cloud seeding if the situation gets worse. "We have urged people to take care of their own health, delivered face masks and closed our provincial outdoor stadium to prevent people from exercising there and damaging their health," he said. "Fortunately, this is the school break season, so we don't need to close schools."
Meanwhile, Songkhla's Disease Prevention Office 12 director, Dr Suwich Thampaolo, urged residents earlier this week to stay indoors, close all windows and doors, wear face masks and see a doctor if they have breathing difficulties, reported The Nation.
In neighbouring Malaysia, the federal government is planning to pass a law to deal with companies domestically as well those based overseas that cause haze pollution, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said.
The Utusan Malaysia newspaper quoted him as saying that such a Bill, which is in the works, would give the government power to act beyond Malaysia's borders, similar to a law that has been enacted in Singapore.
Hazy conditions set to remain in Thailand's Phuket
Haze particles rose above minimum safety levels across southern Thailand earlier this week, above the country's acceptable level.
Arglit Boonyai Channel NewsAsia 7 Oct 15;
PHUKET: Thailand has seen its fair share of bad weather conditions this year, with drought, floods, and now the choking haze that has spread across parts of Southeast Asia from forest fires in Indonesia.
Haze particles rose above minimum safety levels across southern Thailand earlier in the week, including tourist destinations such as Phuket and Surat Thani.
The Pollution Control Department says the situation has improved in all its provinces, except Phuket. Particulate matter rose to 174 microgrammes per cubic metre on the island, above the country's acceptable level of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre.
But there has not yet been a significant decrease in tourist numbers at the popular beach destination. The Thai Hotels Association has urged the government to seek proposals for emergency measures from Indonesia. Major hotels in Pattani have warned that if the haze continues through the peak season in December, they expect bookings to drop, especially from Malaysian tourists.
For now however, the Tourism Ministry says tourist arrivals have increased in Thailand due to Chinese Golden Week. Phuket is also a major destination for Chinese tourists and China accounts for the largest number of foreign visitors after visitors from ASEAN countries.
In a bid to encourage local residents and tourists to protect against the choking smog, the government has handed out more than 8,000 face masks. Authorities expect hazy conditions to last until November at the very least.
- CNA/yt
16 flights led astray amid haze
AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK Bangkok Post 8 Oct 15;
Worst affected of the southern provinces is Phuket. Most air traffic disruptions occurred at Phuket airport Wednesday morning, with nine delayed landings, two planes diverted to other airports and another two forced to turn back, according to the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai), which said visibility was below 1,000 metres.
Among the affected airlines was a flight from Thai Lion Air from Don Mueang airport which circled above Phuket for over an hour, while a Thai AirAsia flight made a U-turn back to Don Mueang at 8.20am.
The pilots of Bangkok Airways flight PG251, which departed Koh Samui airport at 8.05am for Phuket, turned around and returned to the island at 8.30am. Pilots of Thai Silk Air Flight SLK772 from Singapore to Koh Samui decided to circle until the weather was clear. The situation returned to normal after 9.30am, according to Aerothai's regional Approach Control Service.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said the Indonesian ambassador Lutfi Rauf has been invited to the ministry today to discuss how to solve the haze problem. The issue is also a big concern for Asean senior officials currently meeting in Malaysia, he said.
In Phuket, PM10, which are less than 10 microns in size, reached 200 microgrammes per cubic metre Wednesday afternoon, compared with the safety limit of 120 microgrammes, according to the Pollution Control Department.
The tiny particles, which are about one-seventh the width of a human hair, are considered dangerous as they can easily lodge in people's lungs.
Authorities in the seven provinces have distributed 140,000 face masks to locals, said Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn. State-run hospitals are also facing an influx of patients for treatment of respiratory-related disorders, he said.
Smoke from Indonesian fires blankets Thai holiday island of Phuket in haze
As the fume cloud smothering south-east Asia continues to worsen, Thailand calls in Indonesia’s ambassador for talks on tackling the recurring problem
Oliver Holmes The Guardian 8 Oct 15;
The Thai holiday island of Phuket has been plunged into a poisonous grey haze caused by illegal forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia.
Reduced visibility caused passenger planes from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and destined for Phuket airport to turn around on Thursday. The noxious fumes which have been spreading for weeks have shut down many other parts of south-east Asia.
Schools have been closed in Malaysia and races in Singapore for the swimming world cup – the FINA world championship – were cancelled on Saturday. A marathon in Malaysia on Sunday was also abandoned.
The Thai foreign minister on Thursday invited Indonesia’s ambassador for a meeting to discuss the forest fires, the Bangkok Post reported. Pollution rose to 200 microgrammes on Wednesday evening, classed as “very unhealthy”.
Don Pramudwinai said before his meeting with ambassador Lutfi Rauf that he wanted short and long-term solutions to a problem that is repeated annually during Indonesia’s dry season when plantation owners slash-and-burn land on Sumatra, the paper said.
Tens of thousands of people in Indonesia and Malaysia have sought medical treatment for respiratory problems. The annual burning is decades old but Indonesia has faced mounting pressure to end the practice.
Scientists warn the pollution, caused mostly from the burning of drained peatlands, could surpass 1997 levels when the smog led to an environmental disaster costing an estimated US$9bn in damage.
Greenpeace says the fires kill roughly 110,000 people a year in the region through associated conditions.
Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said this week that Indonesia needs to convict plantation companies.
Indonesia has deployed 20,000 security forces police to water bomb the fields and use chemicals to artificially induce rainfall. It also says it has investigated companies and ordered four to suspend operations.
At first rejecting offers to help from Singapore, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday that Jakarta would now work “with a number of countries including Singapore” to fight the fires.
