TikTok creators in Kalimantan, Indonesia, have documented months of persistent haze on social media.
The smoke comes from wildfires that have burned across parts of Indonesia for weeks, spreading within the country and into Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
By Wednesday afternoon, Singapore had the worst air pollution in the world, according to IQAir. Air quality was in the 'very unhealthy' range, and all five regions of the city recorded unhealthy conditions.
Kuala Lumpur followed as the world’s second most polluted city, behind Singapore, according to IQAir. On Friday, the city’s air quality was in the 'unhealthy' range.
The consequences have reached classrooms. Malaysian Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek announced closures in five states and two federal territories, and told state education departments to monitor the haze and act immediately if conditions required it.
In Johor, some 200 schools, kindergartens and nurseries in the Bahu Pahat district were ordered shut on Wednesday because of the haze. The district is about 140 kilometres northwest of Singapore.
Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim said on Thursday that schools should close whenever API readings reach 150 or higher.
The smoke has also altered public events. Organisers of the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon cancelled a kids’ race over health concerns.
Kuala Lumpur is about 1,200 kilometres from Indonesia, yet it has been hit by unhealthy air from fires thousands of kilometres away.
Indonesia’s forest fires have affected millions of people since August. The Forestry Ministry’s fire-monitoring platform, SiPongi, recorded its highest number of hotspots last month since 2015.
Between July and September, Indonesia’s Health Ministry recorded nearly 175,000 respiratory infections linked to the fires.
The fires are primarily driven by illegal slash-and-burn clearing by farmers and companies, a cheap way of removing vegetation. An intensifying El Niño has worsened uncontrolled blazes.
Greenpeace identified more than 20 palm, pulp and sugar companies whose land concessions contained sources of smoke from the fires. Several of those companies have links to Malaysia and Singapore.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency forecast dry conditions over most of southern Southeast Asia for the next few days, keeping the risk of fires and cross-border haze elevated.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to take measures to tackle the haze.
The episode recalls the regional haze emergency of 2015, which caused widespread disruption and diplomatic tensions.
Singapore GP Pte Ltd said it would work closely with relevant agencies to assess the situation before making collective decisions on the Formula One event if haze created problems for visibility, public health or operations.
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