State of emergency declared in Malaysia

Singapore woke up to clear blue skies on Monday thanks to favourable winds but Malaysia was still being suffocated by smog from forest fires in Indonesia, where cloud-seeding flights have produced little rain. 

Malaysia has declared a state of emergency in two southern districts after smog triggered by forest fires in Indonesia reached hazardous levels. The coastal towns of Muar and Ledang are in shutdown, and residents have been advised to stay indoors. Air pollution has also worsened in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, shrouding its landmark Petronas Towers in hazy smoke. 

Malaysia's environment minister is to meet his Indonesian counterpart on Wednesday to discuss the problem.

Smog has become an annual problem in Malaysia, but this is the first time in eight years that a state of emergency has been called, the BBC reports. People are angry that the authorities have not been able to address the health hazard, our correspondent says.

Officials on Sunday confirmed the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) had exceeded 700 in two districts. A reading above 300 indicates that air pollution has reached dangerous levels.

Schools in the region have been ordered to remain closed. Local authorities have distributed face masks to residents. Even in Kuala Lumpur, where smog levels have so far remained moderate, visibility is now strongly reduced and the smell of thick smoke hangs in the air, correspondents say.

The haze drifted across from Singapore, which has experienced record pollution levels as a result of the fumes originating in Indonesia's Riau province.

Meanwhile conditions in densely populated Singapore first began to improve from “harmful” on Saturday and the pollutant index early Monday was around 50 — within the “good” air-quality bracket. 

Poor visibility has also forced at least two flights to be turned away from Pekanbaru on Monday, due to the haze currently hanging over the Indonesian city. A SilkAir flight from Singapore and an AirAsia service from Kuala Lumpur were both forced to abandon their planned landings at Pekanbaru’s Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport this morning due to poor visibility. Smoke drifting over the airport from nearby forest fires has reduced visibility to as low as 300 metres, Indonesia’s Antara news agency reported.

Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesia’s Riau province – the area worst affected by the recent haze. Flights continue to operate as scheduled at Singapore’s Changi Airport, while services are also reported to be unaffected at Senai Airport in neighbouring Johor Bahru.

Malaysia Airlines’ operations control centre chief, Mohd Fuad Mohd Sharuji, was reported by Malaysia’s Bernama news agency as saying that “aircraft can still land” at Johor, but that the airline was prepared to postpone or cancel flights if the haze worsened. Singapore’s second airport, Seletar, closed last week due to the haze.