The highest alert level has been activated across parts of Southeast Asia as toxic smoke from weeks of forest fires in Indonesia continues to spread across borders, shrouding vast areas in a persistent haze that has forced school closures and driven a sharp rise in respiratory complaints.
Regional Warning System Raised to Level 3
The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), based near Singapore’s Changi Airport, announced the escalation on its website, declaring a “Level 3 alert for the southern ASEAN region.” The centre operates a four-tier warning system running from zero to three, with the top level triggered when there is a “high risk of dense (toxic) transboundary haze in the region.”
Under the criteria for the highest alert, the designation covers significant and persistent fire hotspots, moderate to dense haze observed over two or more consecutive days, sustained dry weather and winds that continue to push the smoke toward neighbouring ASEAN countries. Similar alerts were issued twice earlier this year, on 26 August and 27 March.
Fires Raging Across Sumatra, Borneo and Papua
Indonesia is battling severe forest fires that have consumed parts of Sumatra, Borneo and Papua, producing thick toxic smoke that drifts across national borders, particularly toward Malaysia and Singapore. Images from Kuala Lumpur showed high-rise buildings veiled in smog as the haze settled over the Malaysian capital.
The Southeast Asian archipelago regularly struggles with forest fires during its dry season, which typically runs from April to October. This year, however, the blazes have intensified due to a powerful El Niño weather phenomenon, compounding the scale of the crisis.
Singapore Names Companies and Warns of Worse to Come
Singapore on Friday identified seven Indonesian companies as responsible for the fires, while cautioning that the worst may still lie ahead. The persistent haze has already disrupted daily life across the region, with schools shut and health authorities reporting a marked increase in respiratory ailments among affected populations.
- The ASMC raised its alert to Level 3, the maximum on its four-tier scale.
- Fire hotspots are burning across Sumatra, Borneo and Papua.
- Moderate to dense haze has persisted for at least two consecutive days.
- Singapore has blamed seven Indonesian companies for the blazes.
- El Niño conditions have intensified this year’s fire season.
With dry weather forecast to continue and winds sustaining the cross-border flow of smoke, authorities across the region are bracing for further deterioration in air quality in the days ahead.
