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.