Hello Prof and friends!
Living in Singapore, transboundary haze is no hazy topic to us. Transboundary Haze in Southeast Asia has been a problem that engulfs SEA nations almost every year since 1972 (Lee, 2015). Periods of haze also coincides with the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon, which brings drier weather and droughts in Indonesia, exacerbating the overall impact of haze (Radojevic, 2013). If one had to mark in their calendar, haze usually happens in August and September (Radojevic, 2013).
Source: https://phys.org/news/2015-09-southeast-asia-haze-annual-outbreaks.html
An Indonesian firefighter surveys burning peat land in in the Kapuas district in Central Kalimantan province on Borneo island on September 24, 2015
This regional air pollution phenomenon is caused by emissions from biomass fires, largely due to slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia (Radojevic, 2003). These slash-and-burn practices are carried out as an ‘efficient’ way to clear land for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations, mainly in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island and Borneo Island (Phys, 2015). The extent and severity of haze episodes has been worsening over time due to the increasing global demand for palm oil, as it is a key ingredient for many daily necessities such as biscuits and shampoo (Radojevic, 2013). Evidently, the amount of land in Indonesia consumed by fires from January to September 2019 has exceeded the amount burned during all of 2018 – with 2.12 million acres burned (2019) compared to 1.3 million acres in 2018 (Reuters, 2019).
This is an issue as haze spans out hundreds of kilometers across the point source of the fire (BBC News, 2019). It affects the region, from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand to Philippines, bringing a deterioration of air quality to the countries. To those living in Singapore, do you recall how bad the haze event was in 2015? The PSI level was at an astronomical level of 341 and schools were forced to close! Though this might be a miracle to some of you out here, there are tons of significant health impacts to haze. Other than the filthy air that fills our lungs and the blurred landscape we see, what other disastrous effects are there to transboundary haze? Check back to our next post to see!
References
BBC News (2019). Indonesia haze: Why do forests keep burning? [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34265922 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2020].
Lee Min Kok (2015). Haze in Singapore: A problem dating back 40 years. [online] The Straits Times. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/haze-in-singapore-a-problem-dating-back-40-years [Accessed 16 Oct. 2020].
Phys, Org. (2015). Southeast Asia’s haze: what’s behind the annual outbreaks? [online] Phys.org. Available at: https://phys.org/news/2015-09-southeast-asia-haze-annual-outbreaks.html [Accessed 16 Oct. 2020].
Radojevic, M. (2003). Chemistry of forest fires and regional haze with emphasis on Southeast Asia. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 160(1-2), pp.157-187.
Reuters (2019). Area burned in 2019 forest fires in Indonesia exceeds 2018 – official. [online] U.S. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southeast-asia-haze-idUSKBN1X00VU [Accessed 16 Oct. 2020].