Haze from Indonesian fires causes pollution spike in Malaysia

PHOTO: Kuala Lumpur has been blanketed in haze from agricultural fires in Indonesia. (Instagram: fizoomar)

Pollution readings soared past the 200-point level in the Malaysian government's hourly air-quality index on Sunday morning (local time).Acrid smoke billowing from agricultural fires in Indonesia has caused a spike in air pollution in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.

The Ministry of Education ordered schools shut on Monday in the capital and three states due to health concerns, the second time this month it has had to issue such an order.

On Saturday, as the haze built up, an airport just outside Kuala Lumpur closed temporarily as visibility dropped to less than 400 metres.

The closure forced at least 20 flights to be cancelled, according to Malaysian media reports, and followed Singapore's shuttering of schools on Friday as air there worsened to "hazardous" levels.

Parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have been shrouded for weeks in a choking smoke haze from tinder-dry parts of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The haze crisis — the worst since mid-2013 — grips the region nearly every year during the dry season, when agricultural land is illegally cleared by burning.

Indonesia has faced pressure from its neighbours to address the problem since it first emerged about 20 years ago.

But the issue has persisted, especially as plantations have expanded, driven in large part by rising global demand for palm oil, a key ingredient in a vast range of everyday consumer products.

Malaysian skies have been a smoky grey for most of the past month, and authorities on September 15 ordered schools closed in Kuala Lumpur and neighbouring states.

On Friday, Singapore's foreign minister K Shanmugam lashed out at what he called "shocking statements" by senior Indonesian officials perceived as making light of the problem.

Haze levels in Singapore had improved by Sunday, dropping below the "unhealthy" mark.

Indonesian authorities have indicated the problem may not clear up anytime soon.

National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the "fires continue to rage" despite a push to extinguish the blazes on farm expanses and peatlands that has included the deployment of military personnel.

He said new fires were cropping up, while those that were previously extinguished had re-emerged in peatlands or had been deliberately reignited.

He added that pollution readings in several Indonesian cities were at hazardous levels, and that nearly 168,000 people in affected areas has sought medical treatment for respiratory problems.

Indonesia had earlier declared a state of emergency in Sumatra's hard-hit Riau province.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-27/smoke-from-indonesia-causes-air-pollution-spike-in-malaysia/6808080

Sime Darby and 2 other companies rebut haze claims

Sime Darby and 2 other companies rebut haze claims

 

JUNE 24, 2013

Three companies -- Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), and Sime Darby -- have issued rebuttals after being named by Indonesia's Senior Presidential Aide Kuntoro Mangkusubroto as being among several responsible for fire hotspots in Riau Province.

In a statement released to the media, Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) said Indonesia's accusation requires verification.

"They do not correspond with intensive monitoring on-the-ground conducted by APRIL in its own concessions over the past several weeks nor with information on Friday from Indonesia's official national body for Meteorology, Climate and Geophysiccs, which identified 13 hotspots in Riau, none of which are on APRIL's concessions," APRIL said in a statement.

The company said the Director General of the Ministry of Forestry, Bambang Hendroyono, had confirmed Friday the fires causing the haze were mostly occurring on community land, not forestry concessions.

APRIL said it had maintained a "strict no-burn policy in its concessions" since it began operations in 1994, reported CNA.

It added the small number of fires within its concessions over the past three weeks were spread from those that began outside its concessions and were extinguished by its fire fighting teams.

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) also said it does not practise, and "highly condemns" the slash and burn activity for its detrimental impact on the environment.

The company said it is deeply concerned about the forest fires and resulting haze in Riau, Sumatra, and is urging others to support it in implementing "zero burning and zero deforestation practices".

APP said its fire fighting crews and community members have been working to control the fires in its suppliers' concessions.

"The task is very complex because of the combination between strong wind, high temperature and the fact that the fire has reached peat land," APP said in its statement.

APP added that it welcomes opportunities to work with NGOs, companies, communities and governments to address the haze problem.

Malaysian plantation giant Sime Darby, which runs PT Tunggal Mitra, has also denied reports of any fires on its property.

Sime Darby Plantation said there were no fires in any of its operating areas in Indonesia, and that it strictly adheres to a zero burning policy in its operations.

Tunggal Mitra Plantation covers almost 14-thousand hectares, the majority of which is used for planting and development.

Sime Darby said there are some parts occupied by local communities, and that it is unable to exert control over those areas. -  June 24, 2013.

 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/sime-darby-and-2-other-companies-rebut-haze-claims/litee/malaysia/article/haze-update-malaysia-singapore-should-know-themselves-says-indonesian-minister