World · 15 d ago
Mesa Kala · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Indonesia's wildfires trigger Southeast Asia's highest haze alert
ASEAN haze alert
Level 3 of 4, the highest
The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre activated Alert Level 3 for the southern region on Oct 16, the top of its four-level scale.
Most polluted major cities, Oct 17
- 1 Baghdad
- 2 Singapore
- 3 Kuala Lumpur
On Oct 17, Singapore ranked second on a live ranking of the world's most polluted major cities, behind Baghdad, with Kuala Lumpur third.
Auriga
637,000+ hectares
Nusantara Atlas
Nearly 900,000 hectares
Environmental group Auriga says more than 637,000 hectares burned in Indonesia from January to August; the monitor Nusantara Atlas puts it near 900,000.
Effects of the haze
- Schools closed
- More respiratory illness
- Outdoor activities restricted
- Air travel disrupted
The months-long haze has closed schools, fuelled respiratory illness and restricted outdoor life in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.
ZKang123 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Singapore said it would warn seven companies in Indonesia it holds responsible for the fires, and the haze goes to a November ASEAN summit in Manila.
