Haze from forest fires covers skies over Brunei
JAKARTA (JP): Haze from Indonesian and Malaysian forest fires had wafted across the borders to blanket the skies over Brunei, Brunei's weather service said on Tuesday.
The civil aviation department's meteorological service said in a statement that haze was reported over the country over the last two weeks and would likely continue for an uncertain period.
"We are of the view that the prevailing slight haze will likely remain for the duration of the SEA Games and temporarily lift if there are heavy shower activities," the meteorological service told AFP.
It said computer-simulated weather projections indicated there was "little chance of severe smoke haze affecting the nation for the remainder of the current haze period".
The oil-rich kingdom of Brunei last month threatened to bring a suit against Indonesia if prompt action was not taken to stamp out the fires, largely blamed on the practice of clearing land for agriculture use by burning shrubs.
Meanwhile, according to the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s satellite data, the number of hot spots caused by forest and land-clearing fires in Indonesia declined on Saturday, but increased slightly in Malaysia.
The satellite data showed that as of Aug. 7, 23 hot spots existed in Aceh, Bengkulu, Jambi and South Sumatra, and 62 in the Malaysian Peninsula.
On the same day, 21 hot spots were observed in Kalimantan, and only four in Malaysia (Sabah). The data also showed that most of the hot spots in Indonesia were in plantations and farmland.
In anticipation of the fog, environment ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have decided to bring forward their annual meeting in Singapore by two months, Singapore's Ministry of Environment spokesman said on Tuesday.
"The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Haze (AMMH) will be held sometime at the end of the month," a Ministry of Environment spokesman told Reuters, adding that the actual date was being discussed.
Satellite images recently suggested the situation was similar to two years ago when Indonesian fires were not being put out. Experts now expected the problem to remain for two to three months.
Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) touched 100 on July 30, a point away from levels considered "unhealthy".
Singapore environment minister Lee Yock Suan has told a local TV station that greater attention by authorities to the problem would lead to improvements and prevent fires from burning uncontrollably.
"The Indonesian authorities have also given their pledge to disallow open burning to clear land. Unfortunately, at the ground level, the implementation has not been up to expectations," he said.
AFP also reported that a shipping company and police blamed on Tuesday thick haze from forest and shrub fires in Sumatra for a collision between an oil tanker and barge on Monday which left 12 dead.
"Because of the smoke from the fires, the Siak river where the accident took place was covered with haze," said a staff member of the shipping company PT Surya Dumai.
The owner of the Stephanie XVIII tanker, which collided on Monday with a barge around Perawang, some 80 km off of Pekanbaru, said the poor visibility made the vessel sail too close to the banks and hit a barge carrying wood, and then a tugboat.
In Jakarta, Sutino Wibowo, the spokesman of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations, disclosed the government would charge two plantation companies in Riau and was still investigating five others for alleged illegal land-clearing activities in Jambi.
He said the government had issued a first-level alert in Riau, Jambi and West Kalimantan.
"It means all concerned parties are obliged to contain the fires," Sutino said on Tuesday. (prb)