Key facts
- Singapore's 1-hour PM2.5 reading hit 284 micrograms per cubic metre.
- East Timor suspended face-to-face learning activities for three days starting October 15.
- Indonesia has deployed over 69,000 firefighting personnel to combat wildfires.
- The current wildfire season is Indonesia's most intense in 11 years, fueled by El Niño.
Wildfires in Indonesia have intensified, leading to severe air pollution across Southeast Asia. Singapore recorded its highest PM2.5 levels this year on Wednesday, with readings reaching 284 micrograms per cubic metre in the western part of the island state, entering the "very high" band. In response, East Timor's government announced the suspension of face-to-face learning activities for three days starting October 15 due to contamination by pollutant particles.
While East Timor did not explicitly name Indonesia, it shares an island with Indonesian territory where numerous fire hotspots have been reported. This year's wildfire season in Indonesia is the most intense in 11 years, fueled by dry weather conditions associated with El Niño. The resulting haze has led to a spike in respiratory illnesses within Indonesia and a significant decline in air quality across the region, prompting school closures in several Malaysian states as well.
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has ordered the deployment of additional resources to combat the fires. Honi Havana, an official at the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, stated during a press briefing that over 69,000 firefighting personnel have been deployed, an increase from mid-September, and that new methods, including special chemicals, are being tested. Disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Berton Panjaitan highlighted the challenges posed by peatland fires, which smolder beneath the surface and can re-emerge, emphasizing that sustained rainfall is the only definitive solution.
As Southeast Asian foreign ministers prepare to discuss the transboundary haze issue at an ASEAN meeting next month, criticism of Indonesia's efforts has grown. Malaysian lawmaker Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman urged Southeast Asian nations to lodge a diplomatic protest against Jakarta for insufficient action. He suggested that other affected ASEAN countries, like Singapore, should join in lodging a strong protest and that Malaysian and Singaporean banks should cease financing companies linked to land burning.