Firefighters Renew Work on Forest Fires That Brought Smog to Malaysia And Singapore

Indonesian firefighters recently doubled their efforts in the ongoing fight to extinguish fires in the forests of Sumatra Island. Aerial operations were upped a notch higher. The smoke and particulates from the fires caused severe smog in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. Very recently, prevailing winds cleared Singapore of the haze and it is now enjoying clear, sunny skies. In the meantime, Malaysia, including the capital Kuala Lumpur is still enveloped in smog.

June to September is dry season in the region and smog arising from fires intentionally set off in order to prepare the land for cultivation usually occur. This recurring problem is still an annual issue despite the fact that a ban has been imposed. Smog breakouts are perennial issues in Southeast Asia. The worst occurrences happened in 1997-1998 and more recently in 2006.

Singapore all clear for now

Last week, Singapore bore the brunt of the smoke and haze. Singaporeans are now enjoying a respite from polluted air, but officials warn that there is the possibility of conditions deteriorating once more if the winds change direction or if monsoon winds bring smoke and particulates to the island city once again.

On Saturday, the air pollution level in Singapore was “harmful” but on Monday, the air quality bracket read 50 to 100 at “moderate.” Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong posted a warning on his Facebook page and said that Singaporeans “must expect the haze to come back.”

Malaysia’s hazy situation

The southern half of the Malaysian territory was hit hard by the shroud of smoke. The pollution index neared the level of 200 or “very unhealthy.” Schools and other establishments were closed and people were advised by authorities to wear face masks and stay indoors, especially young children. On Sunday, an area was declared to be in a state of emergency when the Air Pollution Index hit 746. In the city of Port Dickson located on the Strait of Malacca right across the sea from Sumatra “hazardous” air pollution levels reached 335.

On Monday, Malaysia compelled Indonesia to stop laying the blame on Malaysian companies, insisting that Indonesian companies are similarly responsible for the forest fires. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman called out for accountability and for those who are responsible to be brought in the open no matter what their nationality is.

Fighting fires

National Disaster Agency Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho revealed to the media that the water bombing sorties now involve four helicopters and two airplanes. The airplanes are tasked to do cloud-seeding in order to induce rainfall on the parched and dry areas that are burning. The efforts to induce rain have failed largely due to the sparse cloud cover. Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho reported that by far, a huge volume of water amounting to about 7,000 liters has been released onto the fires. It took 14 water bombing runs to accomplish this.

One of the main difficulties for firefighters lies in fire control on peat land. This type of soil is quite flammable. In the Riau Province of Sumatra Island, police officers arrested people allegedly involved in causing fires on greater than 400 hectares of peat land.

Photo Credit: Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur shrouded in smog.