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2015 Southeast Asian haze
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2015 Southeast Asian haze
The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia (especially its islands of Sumatra and Borneo), Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.
The haze affected Indonesia from at least late June, to the end of October, turning into an international problem for other countries in September. It was the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It was caused by forest fires resulting from slash-and-burn practices, principally on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, which then spread quickly in the dry season.
On 4 September 2015, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management stated that six Indonesian provinces had declared a state of emergency due to the haze; these were Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. On 14 September, a state of emergency was again declared in Riau, this time by the Indonesian government. Thousands of residents of Pekanbaru, Riau's capital, fled to the nearby cities of Medan and Padang. On 24 October, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a record high of 1801, recorded in the province of Central Kalimantan.
More than 28 million people in Indonesia alone were affected by the crisis, and more than 140,000 reported respiratory illness. According to a 2016 Harvard-Columbia University study, the haze caused more than 100,000 additional deaths, most of them (> 90,000) in Indonesia. But later, the claim was refuted by Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian health authorities. The haze caused by the Indonesian forest fires has been shown to increase haze-related illnesses, such as upper respiratory illnesses and acute conjunctivitis, in Singapore.
The Indonesian government estimated that the haze crisis would cost it between 300 and 475 trillion rupiah (up to US$35 billion or S$47 billion) to mitigate. School closures due to the haze were implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; these affected nearly four million students in Malaysia alone. Among the events disrupted or even cancelled due to the haze were the 2015 FINA Swimming World Cup in Singapore and the Kuala Lumpur Marathon in Malaysia.
Heavy rains in Sumatra and Kalimantan in the last days of October 2015 significantly reduced the size and number of fires, and improved the air quality in most affected areas. In turn, the NEA of Singapore stopped issuing haze advisories from 15 November 2015.
Indonesia has struggled for years to contain forest fires, especially on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. In September 2014, Indonesia ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. It is the last ASEAN country to do so. The agreement calls on Indonesia to take steps to solve the problem through its own efforts or through international co-operation, or else face legal action based on the impact of the haze on its south-east Asian neighbours. In 2014, Singapore also passed laws that allow it to prosecute people and firms that contribute to the haze. In early August 2015, although Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam met to discuss the haze problem, Indonesia did not join the talks.
The fires are caused by firms and farmers using slash-and-burn practices as a inexpensive means to clear their land of unwanted vegetation. Sumatra and Kalimantan possess large areas of peatland, which is highly combustible during dry season. Peat, which is made up of layers of dead vegetation and other organic matter, contributed heavily to carbon emissions because of the substance's high density and carbon content. The haze was particularly severe in 2015 due to the El Niño phenomenon, which caused drier conditions, causing the fires to spread more.
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2015 Southeast Asian haze
The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia (especially its islands of Sumatra and Borneo), Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.
The haze affected Indonesia from at least late June, to the end of October, turning into an international problem for other countries in September. It was the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It was caused by forest fires resulting from slash-and-burn practices, principally on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, which then spread quickly in the dry season.
On 4 September 2015, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management stated that six Indonesian provinces had declared a state of emergency due to the haze; these were Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. On 14 September, a state of emergency was again declared in Riau, this time by the Indonesian government. Thousands of residents of Pekanbaru, Riau's capital, fled to the nearby cities of Medan and Padang. On 24 October, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a record high of 1801, recorded in the province of Central Kalimantan.
More than 28 million people in Indonesia alone were affected by the crisis, and more than 140,000 reported respiratory illness. According to a 2016 Harvard-Columbia University study, the haze caused more than 100,000 additional deaths, most of them (> 90,000) in Indonesia. But later, the claim was refuted by Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian health authorities. The haze caused by the Indonesian forest fires has been shown to increase haze-related illnesses, such as upper respiratory illnesses and acute conjunctivitis, in Singapore.
The Indonesian government estimated that the haze crisis would cost it between 300 and 475 trillion rupiah (up to US$35 billion or S$47 billion) to mitigate. School closures due to the haze were implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; these affected nearly four million students in Malaysia alone. Among the events disrupted or even cancelled due to the haze were the 2015 FINA Swimming World Cup in Singapore and the Kuala Lumpur Marathon in Malaysia.
Heavy rains in Sumatra and Kalimantan in the last days of October 2015 significantly reduced the size and number of fires, and improved the air quality in most affected areas. In turn, the NEA of Singapore stopped issuing haze advisories from 15 November 2015.
Indonesia has struggled for years to contain forest fires, especially on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. In September 2014, Indonesia ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. It is the last ASEAN country to do so. The agreement calls on Indonesia to take steps to solve the problem through its own efforts or through international co-operation, or else face legal action based on the impact of the haze on its south-east Asian neighbours. In 2014, Singapore also passed laws that allow it to prosecute people and firms that contribute to the haze. In early August 2015, although Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam met to discuss the haze problem, Indonesia did not join the talks.
The fires are caused by firms and farmers using slash-and-burn practices as a inexpensive means to clear their land of unwanted vegetation. Sumatra and Kalimantan possess large areas of peatland, which is highly combustible during dry season. Peat, which is made up of layers of dead vegetation and other organic matter, contributed heavily to carbon emissions because of the substance's high density and carbon content. The haze was particularly severe in 2015 due to the El Niño phenomenon, which caused drier conditions, causing the fires to spread more.
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