Travelers cautioned over smog

Travelers cautioned over smog

SINGAPORE (Agencies): The United States and Britain have cautioned travelers to parts of Southeast Asia hit by an unprecedented haze crisis.

The pollution, which has spread north all the way to the Thai resort of Phuket and northeast to the Philippines, has been directly linked to various health problems.

The U.S. State Department cautioned Wednesday U.S. citizens traveling to Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia that air pollution had reached unhealthy levels.

Pollution in affected parts of Indonesia -- southern Sumatra, Kalimantan, southern Irian Jaya and Sulawesi -- was classified as "very unhealthy" to "dangerous", the department said.

But it said the capital Jakarta and popular tourist spots like Bali were not affected.

The State Department said it had authorized the temporary departure of official U.S. government employees and dependents experiencing health problems because of the air pollution.

Travelers to affected regions of Indonesia needed to keep in mind that regional airports were often shut because of the haze associated with the fires, and overland travel might also be dangerous, the department said.

The British Foreign Office has advised its nationals heading to Malaysia to use precaution in light of the haze.

It warned travelers with respiratory or heart problems to seek medical advice.

"All visitors should limit outdoor and physical activity," a spokesman said. "We advise the would-be travelers to consult a doctor if they suffer from chest ailments."

Leading British travel agent Thomas Cook said it was refusing to take new bookings for holidays in affected areas.

German tour operators also canceled yesterday trips to Southeast Asian countries affected by the haze.

Meier's Weltreisen, which operates from the western city of Dusseldorf, called off a flight to Borneo scheduled for next week while TUI, Germany's principal tour operator, gives tourists a choice of alternative destinations.

Many of the fires have been blamed on forestry and plantation companies and small farmers using slash-and-burn methods to clear land ahead of the monsoon rains -- which are delayed this year by the El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean.