Almost every dry season, smoke from fires to clear land for palm
oil and pulp and paper plantations in Indonesia clouds the skies
over much of the region, bringing risks to public health and
worrying tourist operators and airlines.
Malaysia's air quality was deteriorating, particularly in the
western part of Peninsular Malaysia, with 11 areas recording
unhealthy air pollution index (API) readings, the department's
director general, Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar, said in a
statement late on Monday.
Malaysia said last week fires in neighbouring Indonesia were
causing the pollution although Indonesia has denied detecting
any smoke drifting over its borders into Malaysia.
The Malaysian department said earlier on Monday a regional
meteorological agency had detected nearly 250 "hotspots",
indicating fires, on Indonesia's Sumatra island and in its part
of Borneo island, with none in Malaysia.
Efforts to clear the air with rain by seeding clouds and other
measures to cope with the pollution would come into effect when
API readings reached 150 for more than 24 hours, Wan Abdul
Latiff.
Schools and kindergartens must stop all outdoor activities when
API readings reach 100, and close when they reach 200, he said.
The environmental group Greenpeace, meanwhile, called on
countries in the region to introduce legislation to stop
plantation companies causing air pollution.
"Enacting a domestic transboundary haze act is necessary to act
as a deterrent, especially as there are bad apples in the
industry," Heng Kiah Chun, regional campaign strategist for
Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said in a statement.
Singapore, which prides itself on its clean air, passed a
cross-border air pollution law in 2014 that makes those who
cause haze both criminally and civilly liable.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; editing by Robert Birsel)
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