Toxic air spreads across South Asia

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 07.44

 

Smog obscures the view in front of Marina Bay Sands—a Singapore hotel known for its architecture—on Thursday. Photo: Feline Lim/AFP/TT

For several weeks, thick, polluted air has hung heavily over Indonesia, and it is now spreading throughout the region. According to the country’s health authorities, at least 280,000 people have sought medical attention for respiratory problems.

New data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment indicates that the country’s air pollution index is four times higher than 300—the threshold classified as "hazardous."

Since August, fires have been burning across forests and land on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and the polluted air continues to spread to neighboring Malaysia, Singapore, and East Timor.

Authorities point to factors such as the El Niño weather phenomenon and "slash-and-burn" agriculture—the clearing of forests followed by the burning of vegetation—as contributing causes of this dangerous haze.