2019 Southeast Asian haze

2019 Southeast Asian haze

A NASA satellite image showing the extent of the haze in Borneo on 15 September 2019.
Duration	February – May 2019 (Thailand) June – September 2019 (other countries)
Location	Brunei  Indonesia  Malaysia  Philippines  Singapore  Thailand  Vietnam
Outcome	School closures in Malaysia and Indonesia Cancellation of all Firefly flights between Singapore and Malaysia, as well as in Indonesia
Deaths	Indonesia: 2 died from respiratory infections.
Arrests	Indonesia: 230 people were arrested for their suspected involvement in forest and land burning.[1]

Southeast Asian haze series
Haze in Borneo, 2019
History
1990s 1997 Southeast Asian haze 1997 Indonesian forest fires
2000s 2005 Malaysian haze 2006 Southeast Asian haze 2009 Southeast Asian haze
2010s 2010 Southeast Asian haze 2013 Southeast Asian haze 2015 Southeast Asian haze 2016 Malaysian haze 2016 Southeast Asian haze 2017 Southeast Asian haze 2019 Southeast Asian haze
Key topics
Chemical equator Deforestation in Borneo in Indonesia Mega Rice Project Peat swamp forest Borneo
Responses
ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution Operation Haze Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014 People's Movement to Stop Haze
See also
Air pollution in Malaysia API Singapore PSI Social and environmental impact of palm oil
Category
v t e

A trans-national air pollution crisis affected several countries in Southeast Asia from February to September 2019, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Thailand began to experience a haze in February that lasted until May, peaking in March and April. Indonesia began to experience haze between June and July. Malaysia was affected from August, while Singapore, Brunei, and Vietnam experienced haze in September.

It was the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It was mainly caused by forest fires resulting from illegal slash-and-burn clearing performed on behalf of the palm oil industry in Indonesia, principally on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, which then spread quickly in the dry season.