Friday, May 1, 2009
Singapore's air quality reached unhealthy levels as smoke haze from forest fires in Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia blanketed the city-state for a second week.
The pollutants standards index, a gauge of air quality, stood at 128 as of 6 p.m. local time, according to the National Environment Agency's Web site. It reached 130 at 5 p.m., the highest since Oct. 7. A reading above 100 is considered unhealthy and the public is advised to reduce vigorous outdoor activity, the agency said. The readings reflect a three-hour average.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono apologized last week after parts of neighboring Malaysia and Singapore were shrouded in smoke haze. Ash and dust from forest fires cloud the region annually as farmers on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra clear land by burning trees and bushes.
``Indonesia's credibility, capacity and political will to deal with this problem really should be at the center of the issue,'' Simon Tay, chairman of Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said in an interview today. ``The Indonesian government says they will tackle it. We have to see what they will do.''
Smoke haze in 1997 and 1998 caused economic losses of almost $9 billion after travelers shunned the region and health-care costs increased. Jakarta-based budget carrier PT Adam Skyconnection Airlines has suffered at least 1 billion rupiah ($108,630) in losses this month because the smoke haze disrupted flights, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Oct. 14.
Malaysian Provinces
The haze stretched north from Singapore to Johor, Malaysia's most southerly state, and Melaka, which is south of the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The air was considered unhealthy in three of four monitored areas in Johor and in both locations in Melaka at 5 p.m. today, according to the Web site of Malaysia's environment department. Kuala Lumpur registered 85, a reading classed as moderate.
Still, of the 51 sites across the country that are monitored by the Malaysian government, only seven had an unhealthy reading compare with 14 on Oct. 9.
Singapore's National Environment Agency warned yesterday that air quality may deteriorate further as winds from the southeast bring more smoke from forest fires in Borneo.
Satellite pictures yesterday detected 57 hotspots in Sumatra, Indonesia, and 297 in Kalimantan, Borneo, the National Environment Agency said. Hotspots are areas about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) wide where temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Environment ministers of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand on Oct. 13 decided to set up panel to oversee the implementation of measures to combat the haze.
The ministers will meet once every three months to discuss and monitor progress of measures put in place to deal with smoke haze, Singapore's Sunday Times said, citing the country's Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim.
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