Forest fire haze brings misery to Indonesia and beyond
Pastor Dale Morgan
Forest fire haze brings misery to Indonesia and beyond*
John Aglionby in Jakarta
Friday October 6, 2006
The Guardian
Air quality plunged to "very unhealthy" levels across parts of Malaysian
Borneo today as haze from fires raging in Indonesia thickened across the
region.
Fourteen other areas in Malaysia, including the capital Putrajaya and
the largest city, Kuala Lumpur, recorded 'unhealthy" air quality, while
only three out of 51 monitoring stations recorded "healthy" air.
Schools in Indonesian provinces on Borneo island closed and masks were
distributed to residents.
Flights have also been affected, with some airlines canceling services.
Earlier this week a plane skidded off a runway in eastern Borneo in poor
visibility.
"It's dark and gloomy outside," Sri Laraswati, a hotel worker in the
Indonesian city of Pontianak on Borneo, told the Guardian. "Most people
are wearing masks. People are coughing and staying inside. Visibility is
a few hundred metres at best."
The smoke comes from hundreds of brush, forest and peat fires across
Sumatra and Borneo. Most are thought to have been started deliberately
as a cheap and quick way to clear land, but experts say some -
especially on peaty land - could have started by themselves.
The late start to the rainy season across many parts of Indonesia is
also a contributing factor. The US government warned yesterday that the
developing El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which usually
brings drier weather across much of south-east Asia, would linger into
next year.
Malaysia's environment minister, Azmi Khalid, accused Indonesia of not
doing enough to solve the problem in today's Star newspaper. "I was in
Jakarta in June and met the relevant ministers," he said. "They told me
they had the systems to control the haze. It looks like their system is
not effective."
Mr Azmi urged Jakarta to sign a regional agreement on the issue, but
Indonesian officials claim they are working tirelessly to stop the haze.
"We are doing what we can, including cloud-seeding, but the problem is
there are too many hotspots," Hoetomo, the deputy minister for
environmental compliance, told the Associated Press. "Indonesia is a
large country and the haze just hangs in the sky. We are hoping that
rain will pour heavily soon."