Singapore and Malaysia choke on haze from Indonesian forest fires
Singapore had the worst air quality among cities tracked by IQ Air on Friday, followed by Kuala Lumpur, as smoke from fires on Indonesian islands spread across the region.
Singapore's PSI, the index its authorities use to rate air quality, reached the highest level of the year on Friday. Air quality has been significantly impaired since July, and pollution has stayed at an "unhealthy" level for several days. The smoke, which Singaporeans call the "haze", comes from fires and land clearing on the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. The fires are largely set deliberately for agriculture, and they are more intense this year because of the El Niño weather phenomenon. Many of the affected areas have peat soils, which keep smouldering under the surface for long periods.
On Friday, classes were cancelled in the Malaysian states of Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, as well as in Kuala Lumpur and the administrative capital Putrajaya. Some flights in the region were diverted or delayed because of poor visibility. Singapore's authorities said the entertainment programme for the Formula 1 race at the weekend could take place under "certain restrictions". Greenpeace identified 20 palm oil, pulp and sugar companies as the main culprits and called the fires a "criminal act" that endangers the lives and safety of millions of people.
