2013 Southeast Asian haze

[3] The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was notable for causing record high levels of pollution in Singapore and several parts of Malaysia.

[5][6] On 19 June 2013, NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites captured images of smoke from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra blowing east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, causing thick clouds of haze in the region.

[3] As stated by a local Indonesian official, the source of the haze might be a 3,000 hectare peatland in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province, which was set ablaze by an unknown party on 9 June.

[13] On 25 June, Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a formal apology to Malaysia and Singapore for the hazardous smog.

Newly promoted Premier League team Cardiff City also cancelled a week-long visit to Malaysia, the home of its billionaire owner, Vincent Tan, that was scheduled to begin that week, as a result of the severe haze.

[26] Indonesian authorities said that the number of hotspots is expected to rise in August, when slashing-and-burning activity is very likely to peak, thus causing the haze to possibly thicken and increase.

[32] The public was also advised to regularly check the PSI (Pollutant Standard Index), follow the health advisory and seek treatment if they felt unwell because of haze.

The same morning, several commercial flights at Syarif Kasim II Airport were delayed before takeoff by poor visibility caused by the haze.

[45] It earmarked around 200 billion rupiah (around US$20M, S$25.6M at the time) to handle the disaster and deployed seven military aircraft for water bombings and cloud-seeding to fight raging forest fires on 21 June 2013.

[47] Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the government would not tolerate companies burning land and bushes that caused the haze shrouding Riau and its surroundings.

[46] Indonesia began cloud-seeding and water bombing over Riau on 22 July, to reduce the number of hotspots which had risen sharply over the prior weekend and caused the haze to return to Malaysia.

[25] Willem Rampangilei, a deputy minister at the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare, said that the provincial government had already tried its best to fight the fires, but the number of hotspots remained about the same.

[25] On 24 July, planes conducted cloud seeding operations, to reduce the haze which had shrouded Riau and the Straits of Malacca for the past few days.

[26] On 8 January 2014, the Meulaboh district court on Sumatra island ruled that Indonesian company Kallista Alam had illegally burnt vegetation on 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of peatland in Aceh province to clear it for a palm oil plantation.

[58] A day later, the Malaysian Meteorological Department predicted that the haze would not dissipate until 26 June, when Tropical Storm Bebinca was expected to be blown from the southwest, bringing strong winds and dry weather to carry the smog from Sumatra over to West Malaysia.

[5][6] On 24 June, shifting winds blew the haze northwards away from Johor and Singapore, towards Malacca, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Penang.

The drifting smoke from the south also caused other places in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur to be blanketed by thick smog, resulting in the API coming very close to entering the Hazardous level.

The worst hit areas were Ipoh, the state capital of Perak, and Seberang Jaya, in Penang, where unhealthy API levels were recorded in the afternoon.

[72] On 26 July, Bukit Rambai (Malacca), Seri Manjung (Perak), Port Klang (Selangor) and Perai (Penang) were worst affected, with the highest API readings at 82 (11pm), 87 (12am), 84 (12am) and 87 (12am).

However, Bukit Rambai, Seri Manjung, Port Klang and Ipoh remained the worst affected areas, with a highest API reading of 83 (multiple times in the morning), 79 (2am and 3am) and 78 (2am and 3am) respectively.

[74] On 28 July, air quality remained in the Moderate range in many parts of Malaysia during the day, although most areas recorded good readings in the early morning.

[75] On 29 July, Bukit Rambai, Seremban, Banting, Port Klang, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam were worst hit.

[88] While the 2013 Johor Rugby Carnival had to be deferred until further notice, a directive was given to cancel all outdoor activities in the Malaysian National Service (PLKN) training camps in affected areas with Unhealthy API readings.

[89][90] The Department of Environment issued a ban against open burning in Selangor, Malacca and Johor; those convicted would face fines of not more than RM500,000 (S$199,400), a maximum imprisonment of five years, or both according to Section 29AA(2) of the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2001.

[95] The next day, Pizza Hut Malaysia also temporarily halted delivery services for their Muar and Port Klang branches to ensure the riders' safety because of the worsening haze.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah did the customary inspection of the guard-of-honour at the banquet hall of the Parliament building.

[104] Upon the return of the haze in mid-July, the Penang state government prepared 200,000 face masks to be distributed to the people, especially school children, pregnant women, motorcyclists and pillion riders.

[112] However, Indonesian officials became irate at the demands, and on Thursday Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono accused Singapore of acting "like a child.

[121] As dry conditions and winds blowing from the southwest or west persisted, the 24-hour PSI reading for the rest of the day was expected to be in the Moderate range.

[139][140] The Singapore Government distributed a few hundred thousand respirators to households without the means to purchase their own,[141] while the country's top Islam board gave the green light for Muslims to not attend Friday prayer at mosques should they deem fit.