World News by Wild Rose

Indonesia’s president railed against “countries that like to insult” his nation over wildfires that have razed vast areas, spewing toxic haze into neighbouring countries. The Southeast Asian giant has for months struggled to contain fires that Nusantara Atlas, an independent monitor analysing satellite data, said had consumed more than 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) in the nine months to September. The haze has sent air pollution levels surging to dangerous levels not only at home, but...

As haze from forest fires in Indonesia continues to shroud Southeast Asia, Malaysians have taken to social media to air their grievances, with a video of an elevated outdoor reading from an air purifier among viral content marking public frustration. The clip, posted by user syahierarafie, shows a device detecting an Air Pollutant Index (API) of up to 318 in Gelang Patah, a suburban town in western Johor Bahru which borders Singapore. The video has drawn over 990,000 views as of Tuesday. “Today,...

Indonesia battles worst forest fires and toxic haze in 11 years

Toxic haze from wildfires burning in Indonesia has spiked a demand for oxygen tanks and air purifiers across the region, manufacturers say, as they work the clock on equipment providing life-saving clean air. The months-long haze has blanketed parts of Southeast Asia, forcing school closures and fuelling a rise in respiratory complaints. Families are now rushing to buy devices to keep indoor air clean. At AA Alive, a medical equipment company based just outside Kuala Lumpur, employees were...

Singapore has identified seven companies it says were involved in wildfires in Indonesia that are choking the city state with haze, and plans to issue notices requiring them to take preventive measures, the Business Times reported. The companies will receive notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act requiring them to stop or refrain from burning and submit plans to prevent a recurrence, the newspaper reported, citing Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu at a Friday press...

Salon manager Alice Pang says her 10-year-old daughter has likened the visibility inside her classroom in Singapore to Malaysia’s high-altitude resort Genting Highlands, but while the mountain resort is often shrouded in fog caused by water particles, her child’s active imagination may have been triggered by worsening haze plaguing the city state. Pang told This Week in Asia that her daughter, whose classroom did not have air conditioning, was already suffering from bad sinus, and the haze had...

Malaysia has ruled out taking stronger measures against Indonesia over the worsening regional haze, even as widespread school closures and mounting public frustration fuel calls to punish those responsible for forest fires in the neighbouring country. “We need to safeguard the close relationship between the two countries. So, we are not going as far as sending a diplomatic note or taking legal action,” Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told local media on Thursday. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said...

Singapore is looking into which companies may be responsible for the forest and peatland fires in Indonesia that have caused the worsening haze, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday. “Where warranted, we will take action under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and explore joint action with other countries,” he said in a social media post. The haze situation was worsened by the extended dry period, Wong added. Singapore had offered its assistance to Indonesia and would...

Singapore again ranked as the world’s most polluted city on Monday, according to Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir, as the fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands – intensified by a turbocharged El Nino weather phenomenon – keep emitting toxic haze. The city state has rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment and schools were closed in parts of neighbouring Malaysia, as both countries grapple with persistently unhealthy air quality due to fires in nearby Indonesia. The fires have...

Singapore’s Formula 1 Grand Prix race saw a near-record turnout, bucking concerns that one of the worst regional haze in recent years would threaten the event.

Kuala Lumpur's Air Pollutant Index says air quality at unhealthy levels amid smog from forest fires.

Singapore’s air pollution worsened to the highest in the world as haze from Indonesia wildfires blankets the region days before the city state’s annual Formula One weekend. Air quality levels in Singapore were in the “very unhealthy” range as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data from IQAir. Nearby Kuala Lumpur, which was earlier in the top spot, ranked as the second-most polluted city globally. In the Malaysian state of Johor, about 140km (87 miles) northwest of Singapore, some 200 schools,...

For months, the air over West Kalimantan has been thick enough to taste. Now, some of the province’s residents are taking the government to court over it. Indonesia’s worst wildfire season in 11 years has been sending plumes of toxic haze drifting across borders to Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines since at least August. But nowhere has been worse hit than West Kalimantan, where more than 48,000 hectares (185 square miles) of land and forest have burned since the start of the year,...

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are experiencing severe haze from wildfires in Indonesia, with air quality deteriorating ahead of major sporting events. Bloomberg's Mary Hui breaks down the situation. (Source: Bloomberg)