Haze blankets Southeast Asia, again. As the region suffers from heavy air pollution, various sectors such as economy, education, and healthcare suffers the most.
At first, the haze originates from Indonesia and rapidly spreads into neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. The result of Indonesia’s forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan have badly affected neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
However, as the 2019 haze is considerably novel, the loss and cost have yet to be estimated. Helena Varkkey, a senior lecturer at University of Malaya said so to Al Jazeera.
“We’re unable to tell right now if it will be worse than previous years. It all depends on how long the haze lasts. At the moment, it has not reached the intensity of 2015 yet.”
Accordingly, Indonesian government states that these forest fires do not solely cause health problems, but they also harm government’s and the people’s economy, even the neighboring countries. In dealing with the issue, the government has prepared 42 helicopters and water bombs, local news Tirto reported.
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Examining the Impact of the Haze
Reportedly, the 2019 Southeast Asian haze has resulted in loss in numerous sectors, particularly in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Three countries states that the level of air pollution is about to reach hazardous level, thus exposing people to various respiratory illnesses.
Also, the area where the haze comes from, the forest fires in Indonesia, suffers a lot in agricultural and plantation sectors. Although the government states that the ‘hotspots’ are far from residential area, people still find it difficult to do activities, including economic activities.
Moreover, the haze also causes flight cancellation in some areas. The thick haze covering the skies has reduced the line of sight of plane, causing governments and companies to stop plane activities until the condition is declared better.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Ministry of Education is considering to close schools if the air pollution level gets worse. Although air purifiers are now present in schools, it will not do much if the air pollution enters hazardous scale, which is above 300.
Moreover, the haze potentially disturbs the upcoming F1 GP in Singapore. The committees are discussing the continuation of the event.
In Malaysia, on Tuesday morning, API levels in Kuala Lumpur and nearby were between 119 and 140, which are unhealthy. The government has warned schools to cancel all outdoor activities due to the haze.
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