The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was a haze crisis that affected several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand, mainly during June and July 2013. The haze period was caused by large-scale burning in many parts of Sumatra and Borneo. Satellite imagery from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites showed that the haze was mainly due to smoke from fires burning in Riau province, Indonesia.
The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was notable for causing record high levels of pollution in Singapore and several parts of Malaysia. The 3-hour Pollution Standards Index in Singapore reached a record high of 401 on 21 June 2013, surpassing the previous record of 226 set during the 1997 Southeast Asian Haze. On 23 June, the Air Pollution Index (API) in Muar, Johor spiked to 746 at 7am which was almost 2.5 times above the minimum range of the Hazardous level thus resulting in the declaration of emergency in Muar and Ledang (which was afterwards lifted on 15 June in the morning), leaving the towns in virtual shutdown."Haze: State of emergency lifted in Muar and Ledang, schools reopen" , The Star, Malaysia. 25 June 2013.
Chronology of events
On 19 of June 2013, NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites captured images of smoke from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra blowing east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, causing thick clouds of haze in the region. As stated by a local Indonesian official, the source of the haze might be a 3,000 hectare peatland in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province, which was set ablaze by an unknown party on 9 June. As many as 187 hotspots were picked up by satellites on 18 June, down to 85 on 20 June.
On 21 June 2013, a total of 437 hotspots were detected in Sumatra. Two days later, the number was down to 119. On 24 June 159 hotspots were detected in Riau, out of a total of 227 detected in Sumatra. An air force officer explained that the low number of hotspots detected on some days was due to heavy cloud cover, which prevented the satellite from detecting some of the hotspots. The Malaysia Department of Environment said that 173 hotspots were detected in Malaysia on 24 June, with 1 in Negeri Sembilan, 1 in Terengganu, 3 in Sabah, and 168 in Sarawak. Many of the hotspots were owned by palm oil companies or smallholder farmers who supply palm oil to these companies and use slash-and-burn methods to clear their land for the next planting season. However, Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said that the fires were most likely started by errant companies, instead of slash-and-burn by smallholders. On 25 June, Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a formal apology to Malaysia and Singapore for the hazardous smog.
On 26 June 2013, 265 hotspots were detected by satellites, but decreased to 54 on 27 June after heavy rain fell overnight between the two days. Newly promoted Premier League team Cardiff City also cancelled a week-long visit to Malaysia, the home of its billionaire owner, Vincent Tan, that was scheduled to begin that week, as a result of the severe haze.
The number of hotspots in Sumatra continued to decrease on 27 June, with 42 hotspots recorded at 4pm. At the same time on 28 June, only 15 hotspots were detected by satellites. Singapore's National Environment Agency said that this could be the reason for the improving haze conditions in Singapore and Malaysia over the past week. The number of hotspots decreased further to just 7 on 29 June.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) renewed calls for the enaction and enforcement of zero-burn policies. Based on satellite detection of hotspots, the province of Riau in Sumatra was found to contain over 88% of the hotspots that caused the worst haze over Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia since 1997. From 1 to 24 June, NASA satellites have detected a total of more than 9,000 hotspots in Sumatra, and more than 8,000 of them were located in Riau.
By 29 June, a total of 2,800 military personnel, as well as helicopters and aircraft, were being deployed to fight the fires. About 3,000 civilians were also helping with the firefighting. The fires reduced from an area of 16,500ha to 4,081ha.
On 1 July, 4 hotspots were detected in Riau, the lowest number so far since the burning started.
On 19 July, 43 hotspots were detected in Sumatra.
The next day, the number of hotspots rose sharply as Sumatra was experiencing dry weather. There were 159 hotspots in Sumatra, with 63 of them located in Riau.
On 21 July, the number of hotspots in Sumatra spiked to reach 261 as a result of the continuing dry weather. 173 hotspots were detected in Riau. The remaining hotspots were mainly located in the north of the island, in Aceh and North Sumatra. In Malaysia, a total of 19 hotspots were detected. There were 7 hotspots in Johor, 4 each in Kelantan and Pahang, 2 in Perak, and 1 each in Selangor and Sabah.
The hotspots decreased slightly a day later. 167 hotspots were detected in Riau, out of a total of 252 in Sumatra.
However, the number of hotspots in Riau climbed to 183 on 23 July, the highest number of hotspots detected in Riau since the haze returned.
On 24 July, satellites detected 185 hotspots in Riau. Indonesian authorities said that the number of hotspots is expected to rise in August, when slashing-and-burning activity is very likely to peak, thus causing the haze to possibly thicken and increase.
On 25 July, the number of hotspots in Riau decreased to 56, after 4 helicopters and 100 military personnel helped to fight the fires.
There was a sharp increase in the hotspots in Indonesia on 26 August 2013, with 488 hotspots detected. There were 308 hotspots the day after, on 27 August 2013.
Countries affected
Brunei On 23 June, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) in Singapore detected 642 hotspots, which were scattered mostly in parts of central and west Borneo that caused a haze in Brunei and other parts of Borneo. On 20 June, Brunei-Muara District recorded a "good" PSI reading of 44, Belait recorded a "moderate" 75, Temburong recorded a "moderate" 64, and Tutong recorded a "moderate" 66. By 21 June, The Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation of Brunei said the PSI readings were "relatively higher than normal", but air pollution levels were still considered "moderate" as the PSI readings in Brunei were still below 100. Belait recorded the highest PSI reading (98), followed by Temburong (94), Tutong (92), and Brunei-Muara (65), which was the lowest. On 24 June, haze in Brunei remained unchanged with PSI readings in Brunei-Muara at a good 43, Belait at a moderate 75, Temburong at a moderate 72 and Tutong at a moderate 73. On 26 June, the haze was gone from Brunei and PSI levels returned to "good" levels. However, "moderate" levels were still recorded on Tutong (70) and Belait (64). The total number of hotspots also declined from the 231 reported on Saturday to 117 on Tuesday.
Measures taken During the haze period, the Brunei Ministry of Health released a health advisory to the public. The public was also advised to regularly check the PSI (Pollutant Standard Index), follow the health advisory and seek treatment if they felt unwell because of haze.
Pollutant Standard Index readings Pollutant Standard Index readings for Brunei Darussalam Date (Time)Brunei-MuaraBelaitTemburongTutong26 (4pm)4548425427 (12pm)2641375027 (4pm)3852464527 (5pm)4641626228 (9am)36432432 0–50 Good 51–100 Moderate 101–200 Unhealthy
Indonesia
In Pekanbaru, capital of Riau province, where the majority of hotspots were located, visibility dropped and a number of Pekanbaru residents complained that the haze was affecting their health, and Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport had to be closed for several hours, causing several flights to be diverted to nearby airports such as Polonia International Airport, Medan or to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Flights to and from Pinang Kampai Airport of Dumai were also suspended by the authorities because of poor visibility.
While much of the press focused on the haze's impact in Singapore and Malaysia, the local residents of Riau were also affected. Residents fled their homes in Bengkalis, with about 30% experiencing respiratory problems. The fires burned through hectares of local farmland, decimating the season's crops. The PSI in Dumai hit 492 on the morning of 21 June 2013. However, because of the wind patterns, most parts of Indonesia were not hit by the haze.
Earlier on 22 June, Indonesian government blamed eight companies, including Jakarta-based PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) and Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), for the fires. Later on 22 June, Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya revealed that at least 20 plantation companies operating in Riau were suspected to have caused land and forest fires, of which 8 were Malaysian: PT Langgam Inti Hiberida, PT Bumi Rakksa Sejati, PT Tunggal Mitra Plantation, PT Udaya Loh Dinawi, PT Adei Plantation, PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa, PT Multi Gambut Industri and PT Mustika Agro Lestari. However, following a meeting in Indonesia between Balthasar and Palanivel, only four of the companies were from Malaysia and the companies had denied any involvement in the fires. Other local companies detected were PT Siak Seraya, PT Kimia Tirta Utama, PT Inti Indo Sawit Subur, Village Unit Cooperatives (KUD) Dayus Mas, PT Padasa Enam Utama, PT Kartayatam Bhakti Mulia, PT Langgam Inti Hibrindo, PT Riau Sakti Trans, PT Raja Garuda Masa Sejati, PT Sabira Negeri Utama, PT Guntung Hasrat Makmur, PT Panca Surya Agrindo, PT Bumi Reksa Nusa Sejati, PT Surya Bratasena Plantation, PT Adei Crumb Rubber, PT Rokan Adi Raya, Cooperatives 13 Anak Suku Bonai, PT Karyatama Bhakti Muli and PT Agroraya Gematrans.
On the morning of 24 June, the haze shrouded Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau. The PSI in Pekanbaru had been hovering around the moderate reading of 100 the previous week, but it rose to an unhealthy reading of 140 on the night of 23 June 2013. The same morning, several commercial flights at Syarif Kasim II Airport were delayed before takeoff by poor visibility caused by the haze. In Dumai, one of the worst-affected regencies in Riau, visibility was reduced to less than 500m after the PSI hit a hazardous record of 900. This was the highest in any haze crisis and three times above the minimum "Hazardous" level.
On 25 June, eight Indonesian farmers were arrested for creating fires that set in motion the blazes. The number increased to 23 on 1 July, after another six farmers were arrested for carrying out illegal slash-and-burn activities.
Indonesia said that it would ratify the 2002 ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution as soon as possible. Indonesia's Environment Minister, Balthasar Kambuaya, emphasised the importance of ratifying the agreement, saying that Indonesia should be concerned about the impact of the haze on its own people, and also the well-being of people in neighbouring countries affected by the haze. As of 6 July 2013, Indonesia had yet to ratify the pact.
On 21 July, thick haze blanketed Dumai again because of the sudden increase in the number of hotspots, with visibility at street level dropping to below 200m.
On 22 July, many parts of Riau recorded hazardous PSI readings. The worst reading, 619, was recorded in Rumbai, north of Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau. Since then, the air quality in Riau has been worsening. Flights to and from Pekanbaru were delayed because of the deteriorating visibility.
Measures taken The Indonesian government used weather-changing technology to create artificial rain and extinguish raging fires. It earmarked around 200 billion rupiah (around US$20M, S$25.6M at the time) to handle the disaster and deployed seven military aircraft for water bombings and cloud-seeding to fight raging forest fires on 21 June 2013.