News about haze: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.
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Schools in the southern Malaysian state of Johor have reopened after a 10-day suspension that affected more than 1,000 schools and about 600,000 students. The decision was made after air quality improved, but the situation remains tense in Sarawak and Singapore, while Indonesia continues to battle fires.
Aziz KarimovSchoolchildren in East Java took part in government-organized prayers for rain amid the season's worst forest fires. According to Nusantara Atlas, more than 1.9 million hectares have burned; smoke has reached Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor. Six firefighters have died, including a 51-year-old volunteer in Kalimantan.
Javlon TursunovThe Nusantara Atlas monitoring project estimated the area burned by fires in Indonesia from January to the end of September at more than 1.9 million hectares, calling the figure conservative. This is 38% more than by the same point in 2019. Jakarta declined foreign assistance, while Singapore reported 15 consecutive 'unhealthy' air quality days — more than during the 2015 crisis.
Otabek YusupovThe ASEAN meteorological monitor declared 'Alert Level 3' — the highest in a four-tier system — due to dense transboundary haze from fires in Indonesia. The pollution has disrupted daily life in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor: schools are closing and respiratory illnesses are rising. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur ranked in the top 3 of the world's most polluted major cities according to IQAir.
Aziz KarimovSingapore announced it has sent 'preventive notices' to seven Indonesian companies whose lands, according to an investigation, were the source of fires causing haze across Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, four people died while fighting fires on Java. Air quality in Singapore reached 'very unhealthy' levels, while in Palangka Raya it was hazardous.
Otabek Yusupov
