While the storm system of Ignacio is moving away from Hawai‘i, forecasters are quick to remind everyone that hurricane season in the islands lasts until the end of November. On the mainland, large portions of the west are still facing wildfire season. But in Southeast Asia, it’s the season for a different kind of fire—and haze. HPR’s Bill Dorman explains in today’s Asia Minute.
Every year, fires burn across parts of Indonesia especially the western island of Sumatra and Kalimantan Province on the island of Borneo. And every year, a thick smoggy haze blows across the Strait of Malacca and the Java Sea…sometimes blanketing Malaysia and Singapore.
The fires usually begin in the summer…often peaking around this time. On Monday, Indonesia’s National Environment Agency announced more than 200 hotspots in southern and central Sumatra alone. Late last week, a government spokesman in Kalimantan declared a haze emergency after air pollution reached hazardous levels.
Some of the forest fires are sparked by drought conditions or by accident. But others are set on purpose---to clear land for plantations to grow crops, especially palm oil plantations. That practice is illegal, but enforcement has been problematic and inconsistent.
The resulting haze has become a political issue—with the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, trying to coordinate a response…so far, without success. Singapore’s environment minister recently told reporters “the human, social and economic cost of haze in our part of the world has been too high and has been going on far too long.”
