Smoke from Indonesian fires hits ‘unhealthy’ level in Singapore

The Indonesian disaster agency is now using eight water-bombing helicopters, two water-bombing planes, and two cloud-seeding planes to combat the fires, according to agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency says six provinces have declared emergency, allowing firefighting measures to go into full effect.

“Indonesia is keeping its word to ensure forest fires and slash-and-burn activities on agricultural land are not rampant”.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim said two Bombardier CL415 capable of carrying up to 6000 litres of water every 12 seconds, are ready to be dispatched to Indonesia once there is official request from Jakarta.

“We are ready to assist Indonesia”, Shahidan was quoted as saying.

INDONESIA has declared states of emergency in six provinces as peat fires shroud parts of neighboring Singapore and Malaysia in smog.

The NEA regards readings of between 51-100 as “moderate”, while 101-200 crosses into the “unhealthy” range.

The resulting smog that floats over is also a pain to neighbouring countries like Singapore and Malaysia, which typically complain of thick pollution during this time of year.

“Fires are on the rise in Riau”, he said, adding that they were the cause of Singapore’s haze.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said there had been positive response and commitment from Indonesia in addressing the haze situation.

On Thursday, the Indonesian police released data to show it’s stepped up arrests made in connection with forest fires, in an effort to demonstrate bigger efforts to stop the burning.

Indonesia has been criticised by its northern neighbours and green groups for failing to end the annual fires, which were estimated to cost Southeast Asia’s largest economy $16 billion in 2015, and left more than half a million Indonesians suffering from respiratory ailments.

Last year’s fires were the worst since 1997, spreading across over 261,000 hectares (2,610 square kilometers).

A cloud of greyish smoke swept across the island, accompanied by a strong smell of burning foliage.