This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23026450
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Haze from Indonesia continues to shroud Malaysia | Haze from Indonesia continues to shroud Malaysia |
(35 minutes later) | |
Thick haze from land-clearance fires in Indonesia has continued to shroud parts of Malaysia. | |
Visibility in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, remained poor on Monday as officials ordered schools closed in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor state. | Visibility in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, remained poor on Monday as officials ordered schools closed in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor state. |
In Singapore air quality continued to improve after last week's record haze, as wind conditions changed. | In Singapore air quality continued to improve after last week's record haze, as wind conditions changed. |
Indonesia is working to control the blazes but so far cloud-seeding has not produced enough rain, an official says. | Indonesia is working to control the blazes but so far cloud-seeding has not produced enough rain, an official says. |
Agus Wibowo, an Indonesian disaster agency official, told Agence-France Presse news agency that two cloud-seeding attempts were tried in Riau province over the weekend. | Agus Wibowo, an Indonesian disaster agency official, told Agence-France Presse news agency that two cloud-seeding attempts were tried in Riau province over the weekend. |
"The cloud-seeding technology is meant to speed up rainfall, but with few clouds, there's little we can do. The rain was more like a drizzle." | "The cloud-seeding technology is meant to speed up rainfall, but with few clouds, there's little we can do. The rain was more like a drizzle." |
On Sunday Malaysia declared a state of emergency in two southern districts as air pollution levels reached a 16-year high, leaving two towns in virtual shutdown. | |
Conditions eased somewhat in the south on Monday but worsened in other parts of the country. | Conditions eased somewhat in the south on Monday but worsened in other parts of the country. |
The Air Pollutant Index (API) in Kuala Lumpur was near the 200 level, or "very unhealthy", on Monday, while in Port Dickson, located across from Sumatra, it reached 335, or "hazardous". | The Air Pollutant Index (API) in Kuala Lumpur was near the 200 level, or "very unhealthy", on Monday, while in Port Dickson, located across from Sumatra, it reached 335, or "hazardous". |
The smog is being blamed on illegal land-clearing fires burning in Indonesia's Sumatra island, mainly in Riau province. | |
Indonesian authorities say close to 100 forest fires are still burning out of control, casting a thick pall of smog across hundreds of square kilometres, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield Hayes reported from provincial capital Pekanbaru on Sunday. | |
Malaysia's environment minister is scheduled to meet his Indonesian counterpart on Wednesday to discuss the situation. | |
Malaysian and Singaporean officials are also seeking to move forward a meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) haze committee to next week instead of in August, reports say. | |
Singapore's prime minister has warned that the problem could continue for weeks, as teams struggle to bring the fires under control amid dry weather. | Singapore's prime minister has warned that the problem could continue for weeks, as teams struggle to bring the fires under control amid dry weather. |
Meanwhile air quality in Singapore improved over the weekend "due to a change in the direction of the low-level winds", the National Environmental Ministry (NEA) said in an advisory. | Meanwhile air quality in Singapore improved over the weekend "due to a change in the direction of the low-level winds", the National Environmental Ministry (NEA) said in an advisory. |
"The prevailing wind conditions are expected to persist for the next few days," NEA said. | "The prevailing wind conditions are expected to persist for the next few days," NEA said. |
Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index hit a record high of 401 on Friday - the previous high was 226 in 1997 - before slowly dropping over the weekend. On Monday, readings remained below 100. | Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index hit a record high of 401 on Friday - the previous high was 226 in 1997 - before slowly dropping over the weekend. On Monday, readings remained below 100. |