Lion City’s green ranking worsens

WWF International’s Dr Lambertini said Singapore should focus on consuming wisely, such as choosing certified sustainable seafood.
Laura Elizabeth Philomin Today Online 7 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE — With the growing population driving up carbon emissions, Singapore’s environmental ranking has worsened in the latest Living Planet Report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Out of more than 150 countries analysed, the report found Singapore to have the seventh-largest ecological footprint — a measure of the population’s demands on natural resources — in the world. Singapore ranked 12th in the 2012 report. In the top five are Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Belgium.

With limited natural resources, about 70 per cent of Singapore’s footprint comes from carbon emissions, produced within the country as well as indirectly through activities driven by Singapore’s economy in other countries, the WWF said. Consuming large amounts of imported food and services also contributes to the amount of carbon emissions produced per capita.

If every person in the world lived like Singaporeans, 4.1 planets would be needed to sustain our needs, the WWF noted in its report.

Published biennially, this year’s report reflects 40 years of data from 1970 to 2010 gathered and calculated by the National Footprint Accounts from sources such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, among others.

The ecological footprint measures the amount of natural resources such as the productive land and water area a country has, versus how much is needed to sustain population development and absorb carbon emissions generated by these activities.

A country’s ranking is determined by goods and services consumed by an average person and the efficiency of resources used in providing these goods and services.

In an interview yesterday, WWF International’s director-general Marco Lambertini said Singapore is following the pattern of other high-income economies developing at the expense of resources. Aside from carbon emissions, consumption in these countries also drives habitat degradation and sometimes unsustainable practices in other countries, he said.

The report also found global wildlife populations have declined by more than half over the past 40 years, with the Asia-Pacific region showing the second-highest biodiversity loss due to accelerating development in the region in the past 20 years.

Beyond reducing consumption, Dr Lambertini said Singapore should focus on consuming wisely, such as choosing certified sustainable seafood and sustainable timber. “Consume products that have a lower footprint or no footprint or products that are incentivising sustainable practices,” he said, adding that consumers have more choices now.

As a global investment hub, Singapore can also make great impact by redirecting investments towards applying sustainable standards, investing in companies with high corporate social and environmental standards and divesting from fossil fuels.

“We’re also considering the footprint you’re having through operations outside and a lot of the carbon emissions are actually not necessarily in Singapore, but are also outsourced,” said Dr Lambertini. “All these investment here is a critical one because that’s really one of the key drivers of ecological footprint globally and you’re a major hub and you can really make a big difference there,”

He commended the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act as an innovative measure by Singapore to manage impact from other countries and suggested expanding this concept to other areas — such as carbon emissions and deforestation. This would help other countries preserve their existing natural assets, he said. “Their natural capital is everybody’s natural capital. It’s a common good that we need to be committed to preserve.”

Read more!

Sheep deaths during flight under probe

Lester Hio The Straits Times AsiaOne 7 Oct 14;

Singapore authorities are investigating why 174 sheep imported from Australia for today's korban ritual to mark Hari Raya Haji died during the flight from Perth.

Close to one in 10 of the 2,200 sheep were dead on arrival after the five-hour flight landed here on Thursday.

This was the first time so many deaths had occurred in such a consignment, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is examining the carcasses, while the Singapore Mosques Korban Committee (JKMS) is working with transporter SIA Cargo to investigate.

Korban - the Islamic ritual commemorating Prophet Ibrahim's obedience to God because of his willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail - is expected to go on as planned today.

The shortfall in sheep has mostly been made up for by extra lambs out of the 1,700 imported from Ireland.

Another 59 came from a buffer in the supply numbers. The animals from Ireland were priced at $575, while the ones from Australia cost $499.

More than 3,000 animals went to 26 mosques and organisations for the ritual, after which the meat will be distributed to family, friends, and the poor and needy.

AVA, which inspected the sheep and sent several of the carcasses for post-mortem, has ruled out the possibility of infectious disease, which could constitute a health risk to anyone eating the meat.

The flight time was too short for such diseases to take hold and spread, and the remaining animals were healthy and had passed quarantine, explained Dr Yap Him Hoo, group director of AVA's quarantine and inspection group.

"Clear signs" such as organ haemorrhage indicated that heat stress was the likely culprit, he added.

Two years ago, new livestock rules in Australia required exporters of livestock meant for slaughter to comply with internationally accepted animal welfare standards.

Mosques in Singapore had to prove that they met those standards, including giving each animal at least 0.6 sq m of space in its holding pen, and getting only trained, appointed personnel to carry out the slaughter.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said on the sidelines of a seminar at the Lifelong Learning Institute that Singapore had begun to diversify its supply of korban animals to reduce the impact of incidents like Thursday's.

"Last year, we experimented with a small supply from Canada and a slightly larger supply from Ireland this year," he said. "In so doing, we can minimise the risk of such unexpected events."

Shipment of livestock for Korban arrives in Singapore
Nur Isyana Isaman and Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 4 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE: The shipment of livestock from Australia and Ireland for the Korban or sacrificial rites this year has arrived. 2,200 Australian sheep came on Thursday (Oct 2), and 1,700 Irish lambs arrived on Friday (Oct 3).

However, 174 sheep from Australia and one from Ireland did not survive the flight. In a news conference on Saturday (Oct 4), the Singapore Mosques Korban Committee said the dead sheep were inspected on site at the airport, and a few taken for post mortem.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said initial findings indicated heat stress as the cause of death. Singapore Airlines Cargo said the consignment was handled strictly according to international standards. Investigations showed the aircraft systems to be normal.

Despite the deaths, the Committee reassured those who have registered to perform the Korban rites on Sunday that they can still do so. It said the larger quantity of livestock imported this year, can compensate any shortfall. The Committee said in previous years, between five and seven sheep die when they were flown in from other countries.

At a separate community event, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Yaacob Ibrahim said the unfortunate incident is a learning point which will be used to deal with future unforeseen circumstances.

"We are thankful the initial investigations by AVA has confirmed that the animals did not die of any disease. I think that's very important for us. So, the animals that will be for the annual Korban exercise tomorrow are all fit for Korban," said Dr Yaacob.

Dr Yap Him Hoo, Group Director, Quarantine and Inspection Group at AVA, explained why infectious disease could be ruled out as the cause of the animals' deaths: "For infectious disease there is always an incubation period. So that four to six hours is too short an incubation period, and the remaining animals that we saw are all healthy. That's the reason why we can say that infectious disease is not the cause of deaths in this case."

- CNA/by

Read more!

Malaysia: Massive waves hit Penang seafront

The Star 7 Oct 14;


Ocean's might: A man and his children watching the rare occurrence of huge waves splashing against the retaining wall at the Esplanade.

GEORGE TOWN: Strong west-southwesterly winds whipped up huge tidal waves here, driving the swells into retaining walls at the Esplanade and Gurney Drive.

The giant waves rose higher than lampposts along the promenade, drenching the roads with sea water.

Pedestrians were seen recording and snapping photographs as vehicles hit by the white foamy breakers inched along.

Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) workers and bulldozers were deployed to both locations to clear sand that was washed onto the roads.

At the Esplanade seafront, MPPP worker S. Prakash, 27, slipped and fell when a large wave hit him as he was clearing the pathway filled with sand.

“Throughout my five years with the MPPP, I’ve never seen such huge waves.

“I panicked when I saw how high they were,” said Prakash who did not suffer any injuries.

Over in Batu Ferringhi, the tidal waves wreaked havoc at the food court in Miami Beach, destroying the tiled floor, tables and chairs.

No one was injured in the incident as most of the stalls were closed yesterday for Hari Raya Haji.

A spokesman from the Meteorological Department said the strong winds over Thailand had caused the huge waves to hit the northern states of Malaysia.

According to the department’s website, the strong winds had caused waves of up to 3.5m high over the waters off Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Miri in Sarawak, the west coast of Sabah and Labuan.

The strong winds and rough seas are expected to last until Sunday.

The department warned that current conditions would be dangerous to small crafts, recreational sea activities and sea sports.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow meanwhile said the state government was not evading responsibility by blaming high rainfall for the recent flash floods.

“We acknowledge that our drainage systems were unable to cope with the intensity of rainfall in the two hours from 8pm to 10pm on Friday,” Chow told a press conference.

‘Giant’ waves hit Penang Esplanade
royce tan The Star 6 Oct 14;

GEORGE TOWN: Strong west-southwesterly winds have whipped up waves crashing on the retaining walls and causing huge splashes at the Esplanade here.

The giant waves reached higher than the lamp posts, causing sea water to spill onto the road, resulting in flash floods along Jalan Tun Syed Syeh Barakhbah on Monday.

Pedestrians were seen recording the rare phenomenon while vehicles moved slowly as the waves splashed over the retaining wall.

According to the Meteorological Department’s website, the strong west-southwesterly winds of 40kmph to 50kmph are causing waves up to 3.5m high over the waters off Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Miri, Sabah and Labuan.

The phenomenon is expected to last until next Sunday.

Read more!

Malaysia: WWF backs move to arm forest enforcers

yu ji The Star 7 Oct 14;

KUCHING: World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF) backs the Sarawak government’s move to arm its forest enforcers, and at the same time hopes that an independent third-party auditing system can be put in place to further improve forest management.

WWF Sarawak conservation head Dr Henry Chan said while it is good to better arm enforcers, measures are needed to improve the supply chain of legal timber, and to promote demand for wood coming from responsibly managed forests.

“An independent third-party auditing system will enhance transparency and strengthen the state’s credibility in long-term forest management improvements,” he said in a statement yesterday.

A third-party auditing system, he added, would also increase buyer confidence in the global market.

“Knowing the complexity of the industry, sometimes illegally felled trees make their way into the supply chain,” he noted.

He was responding to Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s recent announcement to issue 50 of the most senior enforcement officers in the state Forestry Department with firearms from this month to check the lack of enforcement in Sarawak’s timber industry.

Dr Chan also suggested getting agencies like the army and police to follow forest officers when they go deep into the interior to create a stronger presence among illegal loggers.

Another non-government organisation, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), had urged the state government last week to check on the harvest of Tapang logs at Sungai Pelutan.

“The logs are of the Tapang species, which is protected under the Sarawak Wildlife Protection Ordinance as it is rare and an important nesting tree for honey bees,” Sam had said.

Read more!

Indonesia: C. Kalimantan police arrest 95 forest and plantation fire setters

Antara 6 Oct 14;

Palangka Raya (ANTARA News) - The Central Kalimantan police have detained and named 95 people as suspects for setting fires in forest and plantation areas between January and October 3, 2014.

They will be charged under the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) or the Regional Regulation No. 5/2003, which carries a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment, Chief of the Central Kalimantan Provincial Police Brigadier General Bambang Hermanu remarked here on Monday.

"Whoever sets fire in forest or plantation areas will be sanctioned," he emphasized.

Last week, the local police detained 24 farmers for intentionally burning bushes to clear land for agricultural purposes.

"So far, we have not found any evidence of a plantation company involved in deliberate forest burning activities," he affirmed.

For the last two months, haze has shrouded Central Kalimantan resulting in delayed flight schedules and an increase in the number of cases of acute respiratory infections, including in the district of East Kotawaringin (Kotim) in the province.

"During July-September, more than 2.5 thousand residents of Kotim in Central Kalimantan suffered from respiratory infections due to the haze," Subagyo, an officer at the Kotim health office, stated on Oct 2, 2014, adding that most of the patients were infants.

In 2013, some 8,853 people in Kotim were diagnosed with respiratory problems, which increased to 9,217 from January to September this year, Subagyo pointed out.

The health office received this data from the 20 community health centers (Puskesmas) located in 17 sub-districts in Kotim.

Face masks have been sent to those Puskesmas to be distributed to the local residents.

Most locals have been wearing face masks to avoid inhaling the haze. Many have also started using helmet visors as the thick haze can trigger eye irritation.

On September 30, thick haze engulfed the area and reduced the visibility in Kotawaringin Timur district to just 30 meters.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR/F001)

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 6 Oct 14

dog-faced watersnake & halfbeak @ SBWR - Sep2014
from sgbeachbum

Straits of Singapore Pelagic Survey 5th Oct 2014
from Singapore Bird Group

Malayan Water Monitor (Varanus salvator) @ Pasir Ris
from Monday Morgue

Read more!

PA launches Water-Venture Committee in Pasir Ris

Channel NewsAsia 4 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE: Pasir Ris residents keen to pursue water sports and want to get involved in creating an environmentally-conscious community can do so by joining a new movement. A Water-Venture Committee was launched by the People's Association in the constituency on Saturday (Oct 4).

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean kicked off Project Blue WaVe on Saturday. Project Blue WaVe is the first of a three-part signature event organised by the Water-Venture Committee. During the event, 300 residents picked up litter from the Sungei Api-Api river while others cleaned up the banks on foot.

The newly-formed committee comprises of grassroots leaders and volunteer trainers. They will support the residents' involvement in keeping the environment clean and healthy.

A total of eight Water-Venture committees will eventually be launched in other constituencies.

Mr Teo said such projects are a good way of bringing the community together to create awareness about the environment. "Sungei Api-Api is a natural river with mangrove sites so it's not easy to clean it from the shore side. Every couple of years, we go in from the seaside with kayaks and help to clean up. And I think it achieves two things - first, we help to clean up the river. Second, it teaches everyone a little bit more about the environment," added Mr Teo.

- CNA/ac

Read more!

Global biodiversity targets won't be met by 2020, scientists say

World leaders failing in their pledge to stop wildlife decline, save habitats and create marine reserves
Adam Vaughan The Guardian 3 Oct 14;

World leaders are failing in their pledge to cut the rate at which wildlife lose their homes, according to the the first ever progress report on targets to slow biodiversity loss by the end of the decade. Conservationist called the lack of action a “troubling sign” and a “reality check”.

Governments agreed on a set of targets in 2010 to stem the destruction of species’ habitats, increase the number of nature reserves and stop overfishing, but an international team of more than 30 scientists say in a report that, almost halfway towards the 2020 deadline, the Aichi targets are unlikely to be met.

Writing in the journal Science, in the same week that a major report by WWF suggested the world had lost half its animals over the past four decades, the scientists say that the state of biodiversity and the pressures on it are getting worse, not better.

A pledge to halve the loss of natural habitats by 2020 will be missed, as will an attempt to reduce fishing to sustainable levels, and a target of having 10% of the world’s seas made into protected areas.

Dr Richard Gregory, one of the paper’s authors and head of species monitoring and research at the RSPB, said: “World leaders are currently grappling with many crises affecting our future. But this study shows there is a collective failure to address the loss of biodiversity, which is arguably one of the greatest crises facing humanity.

“The natural environment provides us with food, clean water and other natural resources we need for survival, and much more besides to feed our souls and inspire us.”

He called the lack of progress a “a troubling sign for us all.”

If the 2020 targets are missed, it will not be the first time targets to halt the decline in the richness and abundance of wildlife and the natural world have been overshot. An assessment of goals set in 2002 to cut the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 showed governments had failed to deliver on the commitments they made.

Mike Hoffmann, a senior scientist on species survival commission at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, told the Guardian that “this is a reality check halfway to 2020.”

“We’re in serious danger of being in the same position as we were back in 2010 of not having made the progress we need to make to lead to a better society and a better world.

“It’s not to say we’re not having successes. We don’t do enough to champion the conservation successes, without which we’d be in a much worse situation.”

But, he said: “The bottom line is we’re not doing enough and we’re going to have to do much much more to change things in the next five things.”

The new analysis of progress on the 2020 targets did say that society’s awareness of the problem had improved and efforts to raise funds to tackle the problem were accelerating but not significantly enough. The team looked at 55 indicators to measure the health of biodiversity worldwide, to measure progress on 16 of the 20 Aichi targets agreed in 2010.

“The benefits of maintaining biodiversity are well known,” the report concludes, “... efforts need to be redoubled to positively affect trajectories of change and enable global biodiversity goals to be met by the end of the current decade.”

Officials from nearly a nearly 200 countries are to meet in Pyeongchang, South Korea, over the next fortnight, to discuss how to tackle the problem.

World falling behind 2020 plan for nature protection: UN
Alister Doyle PlanetArk 7 Oct 14;

Many rare species face a mounting risk of extinction, forests are being cleared by farmers at an alarming rate, and pollution and over-fishing are continuing despite the U.N. push agreed in 2010 to reverse harmful trends for nature.

"There has been an increase in effort (by governments) ... but this will not be enough to reach the targets," Braulio de Souza Dias, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), told Reuters, citing a progress report.

Overall, the Global Biodiversity Outlook issued at the start of a biodiversity meeting in South Korea on Monday showed that only five of 53 goals set for preserving nature were on target or ahead of schedule. The other 48 were lagging.

Governments were on track, for instance, towards a goal of setting set aside 17 percent of the world's land area by 2020 in protected areas for wildlife, such as parks or reserves.

But they were lagging targets such as halving the rate of loss of natural habitats, or preventing extinctions of known threatened species.

"Despite individual success stories, the average risk of extinction for birds, mammals and amphibians is still increasing," the report said, adding that biodiversity meant more than high profile campaigns to save orangutans, polar bears or rare frogs.

Urging governments to redouble efforts, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that success in preserving life on the planet would help goals of "eliminating poverty, improving human health and providing energy, food and clean water for all".

Other U.N. reports have estimated, for instance, that free insect pollination -- largely by bees -- is worth about $190 billion a year worldwide by securing food production.

Monday's report estimated that the world would need to spend between $150 billion and $440 billion a year to achieve the 2020 goals to ensure the biodiversity of animal and plant life.

Dias said in a telephone interview from South Korea that current spending was probably around $50 billion a year, much of it focused on setting up and policing protected wildlife areas.

And businesses should also do more, he said: "Many big companies still refuse to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their supply chain."

The report urged far more focus on farming, for instance by limiting over-use of fertilisers that can pollute rivers, or by reducing incentives for felling tropical forests from Indonesia to the Congo basin.

It also urged governments to take firmer action on climate change in order to limit stresses on nature such as damage to coral reefs that are vulnerable to rising ocean temperatures.

(Writing by Alister Doyle; Editing by Dominic Evans)

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 5 Oct 14

Fun workshop with volunteer guides at the Sisters Islands Marine Park! from wild shores of singapore

Life History of the Common Redeye
from Butterflies of Singapore

Night Walk At MacRitchie Reservoir (03 Oct 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Changeable Lizard - Male displays
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Read more!

Recycling gets easier with a bin at every HDB block

Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 4 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE - The list of excuses for not recycling that plastic bottle or stack of paper just got shorter - every HDB block in Singapore now has a recycling bin, completing an initiative begun three years ago.

Since 2011, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has required public waste collectors to provide one bin per block, under its new waste collection contracts, compared with one per five blocks previously.

Last month, Veolia Environmental Services started its new contract for the Tanglin-Bukit Merah area - the last remaining sector without comprehensive coverage. A spokesman confirmed that recycling bins had been installed at all the housing blocks.

Environmentalists said the expanded coverage will encourage more people to recycle - provided residents know where the bins are located.

Mr Eugene Tay, founder and director of Green Future Solutions, a non-governmental organisation that promotes environmental awareness, said some bins are in places convenient for the waste collectors but not for residents, as is the case at his block in Bedok.

"The public waste collectors should look at where most people go and the walkways they use, or perhaps place the bins somewhere near the lifts," said Mr Tay, who received an EcoFriend award from the NEA this week for his outstanding environmental contributions.

Ms Bhavani Prakash, founder of environmental website Eco Walk the Talk, suggested putting up fliers at common notice boards to explain how to sort waste items and what to put in the recycling bins.

"They should be in an easy- to-understand pictorial form," she said. "It's also important to explain why we should recycle, and what happens to the waste sent for recycling, to nudge people."

Ms Doris Koh, a 63-year-old housewife whose Queenstown block of flats recently got a bin, said it had made recycling more convenient.

"My daughter, who lives nearby, also has one on her doorstep now. Before, we had to walk quite a distance."

More than 80 per cent of Singapore's resident population live in Housing Board flats.

The NEA said waste collectors have to provide a 120-litre recycling bin at each landed property as well.

The latest milestone comes as the authorities seek ways to boost the country's overall recycling rate - from 61 per cent last year to 70 per cent by 2030.

Nearly all construction debris here is recycled, but rates for more common materials such as paper and plastics lag far behind.

Last year, slightly more than half of all paper and cardboard waste - but only 11 per cent of plastic waste - was recycled.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/recycling-gets-easier-bin-every-hdb-block#sthash.b1oCdO0Q.dpuf

Read more!

Move to ensure nuclear security for Singapore

Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 4 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE - Singapore has outlined nine research projects to build up its nuclear expertise, which could help the country protect itself in the event of radioactive fallout from accidents or terrorist attacks.

The projects are in the areas of radiochemistry, radiobiology and safety analysis, and will start in 2016 when temporary laboratories are set up.

Scientists with expertise in radiological sciences - the use of radiation in medical treatment and nuclear radiation studies - will lead the research under the auspices of a National Research Foundation (NRF) unit, The Straits Times has learnt.

They are part of a $63 million, five-year research and education programme launched by the NRF in April this year. A government study in 2012 found current nuclear energy technologies not suitable for Singapore as yet but said it should take part in global and regional talks on nuclear safety.

The research programme will help Singapore take part in these talks, better protect its people, and prepare for the nuclear option "in the distant future", said Dr Yeoh Lean Weng, NRF director for the Energy and Environment Research Directorate.

Projects in radiochemistry, for instance, will collect data on background radiation, enabling the country to monitor radioactive levels and detect unusual levels. In radiobiology, the health effects of low doses of radiation will be studied. Said Dr Yeoh: "People are concerned when they hear about radiation. But our body is quite adaptive."

Safety analyses using modelling and simulations are another priority. These include research on the impact of nuclear accidents, and how radioactive particles can travel.

Mr Joe Eades, council member and chairman of the Institution of Engineers Singapore's process safety sub-committee, said the projects will help Singapore develop protocols to handle incidents such as terrorist strikes or accidents in the transport of nuclear material through Singapore waters.

Professor Andrew Palmer, of the civil and environmental engineering department at the National University of Singapore (NUS), called for ways to improve public perception of nuclear energy. "This could clear up misconceptions, such as associating nuclear power stations with nuclear bombs."

The $63 million effort, which includes a fund to train people in nuclear sciences, has received 10 applications for postgraduate scholarships. Said Dr Yeoh: "This is a specialised area, and we need to ensure a critical mass of scientists to build expertise."

In line with Singapore's advancing capabilities in nuclear research, NUS will introduce a new minor in medical physics in January. The NRF said it is in talks with the Nanyang Technological University to set up a similar minor or summer programme.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/move-ensure-nuclear-security#sthash.RKzmVXZ9.dpuf

Read more!

Sumatra, Kalimantan fires rage on

Expected dry weather set to worsen situation
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 4 Oct 14;

FIRES in South Sumatra, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan provinces show no signs of abating, despite stepped-up efforts to contain them.

The situation is made worse by tropical cyclone Phanfone hovering over the Philippine sea, and sucking in moisture over parts of Indonesia, an official said.

This means weather in the lower parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan will likely continue to get drier in the coming days, worsening fires and haze.

"We forecast slightly higher pressure on Saturday there, or cyclone Phanfone growing bigger," Mr Lutfi Fitriano, a weather forecaster at the national meteorological, climatological and geophysical bureau in Jakarta, told The Straits Times.

The forest and plantation fires in South Sumatra, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan have raged in recent days, affecting flight and shutting schools there.

The northern part of Kalimantan, Central Sumatra - which includes Riau province - and North Sumatra may, however, see some light rain in the coming days.

"Riau is wet enough, therefore it is safe from fire as they have ample rain," Mr Lutfi added. Riau is the second-closest province to Singapore, after Riau Islands province. Dumai city in Riau province was the epicentre of last June's haze when Singapore and Malaysia saw record-high PSI.

The total number of hot spots detected in Kalimantan was 389, and 31 in Sumatra yesterday, Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) said in an update on its website. But the low count in Sumatra was due to partial satellite coverage.

Central Kalimantan governor Teras Narang said the haze thickened yesterday. He will hold a coordination meeting today with all regency heads in his province to discuss ways to step up efforts to fight the raging fires.

"The haze has gotten very, very severe. Schools are closed, the number of residents with respiratory illness jumped, and flights have been affected," Mr Teras told reporters yesterday.

Water bombing operations in Central Kalimantan were partially impeded yesterday as the haze was too thick for the helicopter to operate, the provincial head of disaster mitigation agency, Mr Muchtar, told Kompas.com, the news portal owned by Indonesia's largest newspaper.

"We can barely see our neighbour's house 10 metres away," Mr Muhammad Muza, a Banjarbaru resident in South Kalimantan, told local news portal Harianterbit.com.

The number of people suffering from respiratory illness in the South Sumatran capital of Palembang almost doubled to 4,839 last month, from 2,852 the previous month. Visibility level in parts of the province fell below 500m.

Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency chief Syamsul Maarif has deployed 2,200 military officers and 1,050 policemen to take part in the ground firefighting efforts.

"Law enforcement must continue to be stepped up," Mr Syamsul said.

Read more!