2019 Southeast Asian haze

The 2019 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis which affected several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Background
The haze was caused by Indonesian agricultural fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, as well forest fires in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei-Muara District of Brunei, East Coast Park of Singapore, and forest lands in northern Thailand with farmlands in Pa Phru Kuan Kreng of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand.

Brunei
In March, around 161 ha of forest in Berakas, Lambak Kanan, Rimba and Tungku Link of Brunei-Muara District was destroyed by fires.

Indonesia
Following the previous critical 2015 Southeast Asian haze that traced its origin in Indonesia, forest fires in the country returned in July with 42740 ha of land burned across the country that causing transboundary haze towards Malaysia and Singapore.

Malaysia
Early in February, forest and peatlands in Pahang caught fire. Further in August, several Malaysian states and federal territories such as Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Putrajaya and Selangor were affected by haze from Sumatra in Indonesia while the state of Sarawak were affected by fires in the state since July and from neighbouring Kalimantan of Indonesia from August. A 2.4 hectares of forest also burned in Johor in August.

Singapore
In early August, Singapore began to experienced haze following the emergence of hotspots detected in neighbouring Indonesia of Central Sumatra and southern Kalimantan. 555 vegetation fires in Singapore were also reported in the first half of 2019, with one reported in the East Coast Park.

Thailand
Early in March, the area in northern Thailand have been engulfed by haze from forest fires in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai as well from the border with Myanmar. Million hectares of forested lands in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Phayao, Phrae and Tak provinces were destroyed.

Further in July, around 2,318.88 ha of forest and farmlands in Pa Phru Kuan Kreng of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and surrounding areas in southern Thailand have been destroyed by fires.

Authorities response and joint agreement
The Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation of Brunei (JASTRe) set to introduce a law that will tackle "rampant open burning" in the country to mitigate bush and forest fires. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has instructed the country National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), National Armed Forces (TNI), and the National Police (POLRI) to deal with the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The President also threatens to sack firefighters if the forest fires are not tackled immediately. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has dispatched two flights using the Bombardier CL415 aircraft to carrying 198,000 litres of water to fight forest fire in Miri. The Malaysian Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry said they wanted concerted efforts taken in accordance with the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution ratified by member countries. Malaysian Health Ministry has cautioned members of the public to cut down on outdoor physical activities and urging them to wear face masks, umbrellas and caps when outdoors as well advising people to drink plenty of water and to seek immediate treatment if they were not well. The National Environment Agency of Singapore also started issuing daily advisories on the haze. Thailand's Nakhon Si Thammarat Province Governor Chamroen Tippayaponthada has offered a ฿5,000 reward for evidence leading to the arrest of anyone suspected of starting the forest fires in the province.

In August, all of the involved countries reached an agreement to prevent land and forest fires that causing transboundary haze pollution with the hope to achieve a haze-free Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by the year of 2020.