‘Phl too far to be affected by Indonesia forest fires’

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is too far away to be affected by the hazardous haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia, the weather bureau said yesterday.

Jun Galang, weather forecaster at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, told The STAR that “in the event that the haze will be moving towards the direction of the country, it will be sucked into the circulation of Tropical Depression Fabian.” 

Fabian left the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday and moved north-northwest towards China.

The haze has reached Singapore, with the smog index hitting the critical 400 level on Friday, making it potentially life-threatening to the ill and elderly people.  The record level was reached at 11 a.m. after a rapid rise in the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), which measures the haze crisis caused by Indonesian forest fires. 

In media interviews, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned that the hazardous haze shrouding the island state from Indonesian forest fires could easily last for weeks.

In 2010, illegal forest fires in Sumatra island sent haze across the Malacca Strait to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, causing the worst air pollution since 2006.  The worst haze hit the region in 1997 to 1998, when drought caused by El Niño led to major Indonesian fires.

The smoke spread to Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand and cost more than $9 billion in damage to tourism, transport and farming.