Haze eases with rains, but not over yet

Haze eases with rains, but not over yet

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Scattered rains yesterday helped lift a
smoky haze that has blanketed Singapore and parts of Malaysia and
Indonesia since August by dousing some of the fires causing it.

But they cautioned the smoke, often polluting the region's air
to hazardous levels and disrupting outdoor physical activities,
could last through October.

"Much will depend on the direction of the wind," said Tan Swan
Foo, deputy director of Singapore's Meteorological Department.

"The wind is still blowing to Singapore from the east to
south-easterly direction, the source of the haze," he told
Reuters. "But we expect the wind to change to a northerly
direction by the end of this month or early next month."

Thick smoke from coal and forest fires raging since August in
Indonesia's Sumatra island and in Kalimantan, Indonesia's part of
Borneo, has blown across southeast Asia, shrouding Malaysia,
Singapore and parts of Indonesia.

The haze pushed up Singapore's Pollutants Standard Index (PSI)
to a record 142 unhealthy level on Sept. 27. It forced people
with bronchial ailments to seek medical care, prompted suspension
of schools' physical activities, and canceled some flights and
route marches by armed forces.

Singapore's Environment Ministry said yesterday's air quality
reached a "good quality level" -- a PSI of 42 -- for the first
time since Aug. 20.

Indonesian officials said rains have dampened fires in
Kalimantan, regarded as the most fire-ravaged area of that
country and a major source of the smoke.

Armed only with water pumps, sticks, spades and one water
truck, fire-fighters in Bukit Soeharto national park were still
monitoring the smouldering coal beneath the 63,000 hectare
(155,675 acre) park.

In Malaysia, the haze had largely lifted as the air quality
index dipped over the weekend into the 50s -- the moderate level
-- after breaching the 300 hazardous level a week ago.

Malaysia's New Straits Times newspaper, which generally
reflects government thinking, warned in a Monday editorial that
the clearing air, due to heavy downpours and shifting winds,
poses a danger that lessons will not be learned.

"With air quality so dependent on the winds of fate, there
will appear little immediate justification for radical action ...
The initiative for long-term solutions can evaporate as fast as
the problem fades on its own," the newspaper said.