History

Introduction

Since the Pleistocene Age, recurring forest fires have been a part of South East Asia. These fires were due to large amounts of time with no rain, resulting in dry forest, a hotspot for fires. Recently, this disturbance, known as El Nino, has returned. (HazeOnline.com)

Singapore

In 1997, the haze took SE Asia and Singapore by storm. September 1997, the 3-hour PSI reading hit 226, the highest ever recorded in Singapore history. As quoted from TODAY Singapore 13 October 2006, “Singapore was estimated to have suffered USD 300 million in losses. Health costs, USD 5 million; Loss in tourism, USD 210 million; Loss in visibility, USD 41 million; Loss in recreation, USD 95,000. The economic loss per household was estimated at about USD 400 while losses to each Singaporean were USD 100.” This was the extent of damage on Singapore. Since then, Singapore has been experiencing haze annually. In some years, it was worse; in other years, it was better. The haze was, so called, okay until 2006.

In 1999, there was also a rather serious haze episode. However, owing to the wet weather, the haze was not as bad as 1997 as the rains prevented further burnings. The Indonesia also passed a law, banning open burnings, in this similar year.

In 2002, Singapore experienced yet another severe haze. The PSI of October that year hit 79 on a Sunday night and 69 on a Monday night. However, the PSI did not rise above the 100 mark like it did in 1997, said Michelle Tan, spokeswoman for Singapore Environmental Agency. The rages on island of Borneo and Sumatra combined with the wind sent bouts of haze to Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand.

In 2006, smog started to cloud the September skies of Singapore. Euston Quah, head of economics at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University told the Agence France Presse and TODAY Singapore of his “back-of-the-envelope, round figure” estimate of Singapore’s economic losses due to haze in October 2006 was USD 50 million. This was also the figure that economists came up with that was reported in TODAY Singapore. These losses encompassed health costs, loss in tourism, loss in visibility and loss in recreation as well as economic losses. The severity and great impact of the haze can be seen considering these losses were accounting for only the month of October.

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Malaysia

In the 1997 haze, Malaysia was also badly, if not worse, hit by the haze like Singapore. Figures showed that the number of tourists at that year fell 13% from 7.1 in 1996 to 6.2 million in 1997.

In 2005, Malaysia experienced a serve haze situation. Port Klang and Selangor were declared a haze emergency state on 11 August 2005. The API at Port Klang was 424 on 10 August 2005. This was just 76 short of the “Dangerous” mark on the API. Visibility drop so low (less than 1300 feet) that flights at Subang airport near Kuala Lumpur were suspended. Schools and one of Malaysia’s key port, Northport, followed suit and were suspended. Shipping in the Malacca Straits was also affected by the haze. One example was the CSCL Kobe beached while moving to Westport on Monday, 8 August 2005. Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said “some government hospitals and clinics were seeing a 150 per cent rise in respiratory complaints”. A state of emergency would be declared if the API reading went over the 500 mark. The only time such an event occurred was in the 1997 haze, Sarawak. Quoting Natural Resources and Environment Minister Adenan Satem, “The situation is not getting better. It is getting worse.”

The situation in 2006 was similar. Haze shrouded most parts of Malaysia such as eastern Sarawak and west and south Malaysia. In fact, visibility was so bad that it posed a threat to ships without navigation devices. A API reading of 171 was taken from Putrajaya, a reading considered to be unhealthy (101 -200).

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Indonesia

Indonesia has generally been the root causes of the SE Asia haze. Due to the cheap Slash and Burn method, many farmers there resort to it and it has caused much disruption to the neighbouring countries. Indonesians themselves are also affected with haze readings hitting hazardous levels. Visibility in certain areas dropped to 200 meters in 2006. Quoting from the New Zealand Press Agency, 6 Oct (www.channelnewsasia.com), “In Pontianak, visibility was less than 300 metres while in Palangkaraya, it was just 200 metres, meteorological officials there said.

Health officials in both provinces have said that more people have been seeking medical help for respiratory ailments in recent weeks. ”

Drivers were turning on headlights in the day and flights were cancelled due to the thick smog obscuring the region on 8 Oct 06.

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Thailand

1997. There was a decrease in Thailand’s tourism with only 0.95 percent of tourist as compared to the same period in 1996 due to both the haze and economic crisis. Papers have reported these losses partially due to the haze.

Smoke obscured Thai skies in 2002 as haze from the Indonesia region started making it way to southern Thailand.

In 2006, the haze was so bad in Thailand that people were advised to refrain from outdoor escapades and visibility for fishing boats in the Gulf of Thailand dropped to 100 meters.

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The Philippines

On 22 Sep 1997, “flights to Palawan and General Santos City were canceled due to the think haze billowing from Indonesia” said airlines to Dow Jones International News. The haze caused much disruption within the country. Quoting navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Salvador Cuba from Dow Jones International News, “Military planes and ships also were taking precautions in affected areas.” This haze also grounded 150 planes in the Philippines with visibility at 3 km, short of 5 km for light planes to fly.

In 1999, the haze returned to Philippines. Though it caused some disruptions, it was not as serious as that of 1997.

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Brunei

In 2005, the haze, combined with the dry weather, resulted in numerous bushfires around Brunei and visibility dropped on 21 March 2005. This caused more haze and set the 340 hectares Berakas recreation Park ablaze.

In 2006, Brunei faced the similar haze to that of Indonesia and Singapore with haze readings pushing the danger zones.

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