The most volatile aspect of air quality in Hawaiʻi comes from volcanic activity. It's a very different story in Southeast Asia, where some farming practices are turning into political issues.
The worst haze in more than a decade is stubbornly lingering over parts of Southeast Asia.
In the Kalimantan region of Indonesia, Thursday morning brought government air pollution numbers more than four times the level of “hazardous.”
The haze has been in the unhealthy range for weeks — much of it sparked by fires started on purpose to clear land for planting.
It's called “slash and burn,” a practice Indonesia’s president calls “ecological terrorism.”
It was restricted and then banned in Indonesia under a series of laws going back to the 1990s.
But it continues, plaguing not only Indonesian residents, but also international neighbors with a problem called “transboundary haze.”
Critics say the central government needs to do more to enforce existing laws, increase fines, and take other steps to reduce the blankets of haze made worse by a strong El Nino season.
The haze has been particularly heavy in Singapore and Malaysia, and both governments have complained to Indonesia.
Parts of the Philippines have also been affected.
This week, a spokesperson for the Philippine Foreign Ministry said transboundary haze will be on the agenda in about a month in Manila, where regional foreign ministers gather ahead of the leaders' meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
