Haze from Indonesian wildfires has drifted across national borders, turning skies yellow and forcing school closures in several Southeast Asian countries.
East Timor's government ordered schools closed for three days starting the previous day because of haze blowing in from Indonesia, AFP and Bloomberg reported on the 15th. In the capital, Dili, air quality deteriorated so badly that the sky took on a yellow tint, and most people ventured outside wearing masks. Residents of Dili said the sun was no longer visible.
Malaysia and Singapore have been struggling since last month. In Malaysia, more than 2 million students were kept out of school early this month as air pollution reached some of the worst levels in the world. In Singapore, sales of air purifiers jumped ninefold from August, and shoppers rushed to stockpile masks.
Singapore Weighs Penalties of Up to 2 Million Singapore Dollars on Indonesian Firms
Singapore has gone a step further, weighing the use of its own laws to punish Indonesian companies. Grace Fu, Singapore's minister for sustainability and the environment, said the government was gathering information and examining possible action under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.
Enacted in 2014, the law allows fines of up to 2 million Singapore dollars (about 2.1 billion won, or $1.6 million) on those responsible for starting or failing to control fires when wildfire haze keeps the Pollutant Standards Index at an unhealthy level for more than a day. Singapore considered the same step in 2016, but Indonesia pushed back and the issue escalated into a diplomatic rift.
Fu added that the government understood the situation was complicated by dry weather, and that Singapore stood ready to help whenever it could.
In Indonesia, some companies and farmers have repeatedly set fire to land during the dry season to cut the cost of clearing it, with the blazes spreading out of control. Dry weather driven by El Nino this year has fueled the worst wildfires in 11 years, since 2015, centered on Borneo and Sumatra.
Indonesian police are investigating nine palm oil companies but have not released their names. The 2015 fires burned 2.6 million hectares, and this year's damage is expected to exceed the 1 million hectares burned in 2019.