Haze Worsens As Fires Rage In Kalimantan
By M K Anwar

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei was shrouded in haze yesterday with the Pollutant Standard Index or PSI reading at 74 (moderate) and increasing from 56 (moderate) reading on Thursday, as fires raged in Kalimantan.

The forecast of yesterday's weather by the Brunei Meteorological Department stated that moderate to thick haze in the morning but may improve slightly in the afternoon.

The weather was generally fair except for few coastal showers early yesterday afternoon with isolated inland thunderstorms later in the afternoon.

Acrid smoke from a rising number of open fires in Borneo and Indonesia's Sumatra province on Friday caused a thick blanket of haze to cover most of Malaysia and brought air quality to unhealthy levels.

Fourteen of the 51 air-monitoring stations, around Malaysia reported "unhealthy" air quality while one area in Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state on Borneo Island has dipped to "very unhealthy" air levels, the Environment Department said Friday.

The outlook in Brunei today meanwhile remains hazy with occasional showers.

PSI reading this week continued to linger between the moderate 51-100. The Ministry of Health guidelines stated that if the PSI readings are around 51-100 (moderate), the public may be affected by minor health problems such as coughs, cold and sore eyes. For those with lung and heart problems, signs of the disease will increase. Children with asthma, lung and heart diseases, they are advised to reduce physical activities.

Despite the unpredictable haze conditions, there have been no reports of any increase on haze-related illness in Brunei.

While mild haze has been plaguing the skies of Sarawak and other Malaysian cities for more than a month, the level of pollution reached a record high this past week, as evidenced by Friday's alarming readings, a department official said.

The Star daily reported that the Malaysian Health Ministry had instructed all hospitals and clinics to be prepared for a possible influx of patients.

Officials from the Education Ministry have said they were monitoring the situation before calling for a closure of schools in badly affected areas. Azmi Khalid, the Malaysian Environment Minister, was reported to have expressed frustration at the prolonged haze.

"We can only hope (Indonesia) can overcome their problems, and we will help by sending our firefighters there if they request for it," Azmi Khalid said.

Fires are deliberately set by plantation owners in Indonesia and Borneo to clear the land, causing heavy smoke to blanket the region every year.

Malaysia and Brunei experienced a major haze in 1997 and 1998 when smog, also from forest fires in Indonesia, enveloped the region, causing serious health and traffic hazards and disrupting airline schedules as well as causing billion dollars in economic loses. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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