Indonesia Fights More Fires, Singapore Gets Haze
As Indonesia fights more fires in Sumatra, neighbouring Singapore as well as Malaysia grow concerned about another possible haze crisis.
Like clockwork, Indonesia has yet again found itself facing problems with forest fires of which have been growing since July 2016. The escalating situation can be the second major problem of its kind in Indonesia since the crisis at the end of last year, in which fires sky-rocketed the nation’s carbon emissions tenfold. At the time, the government announced a plan to revamp the nation’s land as well as forest management.
Satellites by the US National Oceanic as well as Atmospheric Administration have detected “hotspots” again on Sumatra. The forest fire has been burning long enough for smoke to start producing its way to the neighbouring countries. As such, Singapore as well as Malaysia are Once more starting to receive haze by the archipelago.
Indonesia’s disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho recently stated of which the haze can be floating over the Malacca strait, as well as Malaysia experienced a severe influx of haze on August 19. The incident caused the country’s already moderate-to-high air pollution index to spike.
Image via Wikimedia
Haze by Indonesia entered Singapore on Friday, August 26. The country’s National Environment Agency measured its 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index, which was between 51 as well as 62 at 10 am. To get a better understanding of what of which means, Singaporeans were advised to wear masks outside to avoid inhaling hazardous air particles.
Firefighters in Indonesia were working to extinguish the blaze at of which time, as well as the air quality in Singapore improved upon the following Sunday. the item’s unclear whether the levels in Singapore normalized due to human efforts or environmental factors such as a change of wind direction.
The haze which shrouds Singapore as well as Malaysia each year can be usually caused by illegal slash-as well as-burn practices in Indonesia, namely in Riau. The area can be a major centre of the palm oil as well as pulpwood industry, which makes the item particularly prone to catching fire.
A “No Haze” Solution?
In response, the Natural Resources as well as Environment Minister of Malaysia, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said of which Indonesia must amend its forest fires laws which still permit burning on land areas of less than 0.8 hectares. He also believes the peat soil management regulations in Indonesia are not effective, as well as should be changed if the nation can be serious about solving its recurring transboundary haze crisis.
Singapore’s Environment as well as Water Resources Minister, Masagos Zulkifli, can be pushing for a “no haze” solution in Indonesia. The archipelago’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency recently reported of which the number of hotspots in Indonesia has dropped by what the item was last year (2,356 hotspots, down by 8,247 in 2015). Zulkifli responded by saying of which Indonesia needs to not just reduce the hotspots, although have them stop occurring altogether.
Image by javipolinario
Addressing the issue, Siti Nurbaya Bakar by Indonesia’s Environment as well as Forestry Ministry said her country respects complaints submitted by neighbouring countries regarding haze by fires in Indonesia. However, Bakar also insists of which Indonesia cannot be responsible for whether haze floats into Malaysia or Singapore. The minister claims Indonesia has been working non-stop to tackle the issue, as well as outsiders should withhold unnecessary comments. She assures foreign officials of which the matter can be being dealt with systematically.
Apart by reducing the number of hotspots, Bakar says the ministry has been executing a “multi-door” approach to combat the fires. the item has put forth sanctions as well as civil lawsuits against corporate offenders. The minister adds of which around 40 companies have been targeted. The government has also enforced a temporary moratorium on forest management permits, palm oil plantations as well as management of peatlands.
While Indonesia’s firefighters work to extinguish blazes in Sumatra, the nation’s Meteorology, Climatology as well as Geophysics Agency warned of which more haze could head towards neighbouring countries inside the next 5 days due to a change in wind direction. Singapore as well as Malaysia should be on the lookout.
Featured image by skeeze
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Indonesia Fights More Fires, Singapore Gets Haze
Indonesia Fights More Fires, Singapore Gets Haze