Global Information2015 Southeast Asian haze information
 A collage showing various landmarks in the haze. Top: An-Nur Great Mosque, Pekanbaru, Indonesia Bottom-left: Darussalam Grand Mosque Palangkaraya, Indonesia Bottom-right: Swissôtel The Stamford, Singapore | |
| Duration | 28 June 2015[1] – 29 October 2015[2][3] |
|---|---|
| Location |  Brunei Cambodia (suspected) Indonesia (origin) Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam |
| Outcome | State of emergency declared in six Indonesian provinces School closures in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore Swimming World Cup disrupted Kuala Lumpur Marathon cancelled |
| Deaths | Indonesia: 19 died due to respiratory infections.[2] |
| Non-fatal injuries | Indonesia: 503,874 (by 23 October 2015)[9] |
| Property damage | $35-47 billion (2015 USD) |
The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia (especially its islands of Sumatra and Borneo), Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.
The haze affected Indonesia from at least late June,[1] to the end of October, turning into an international problem for other countries 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.[10] It was caused by forest fires resulting from slash-and-burn practices, principally on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, which then spread quickly in the dry season.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
On 4 September 2015, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management stated that six Indonesian provinces had declared a state of emergency due to the haze; these were Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.[20] On 14 September, a state of emergency was again declared in Riau, this time by the Indonesian government.[16][21] Thousands of residents of Pekanbaru, Riau's capital, fled to the nearby cities of Medan and Padang.[22][23] On 24 October, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a record high of 1801, recorded in the province of Central Kalimantan.[24][25]
More than 28 million people in Indonesia alone were affected by the crisis, and more than 140,000 reported respiratory illness.[9][26] According to a 2016 Harvard-Columbia University study, the haze caused more than 100,000 additional deaths, most of them (> 90,000) in Indonesia.[27][28] But later, the claim was refuted by Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian health authorities.[29] The haze caused by the Indonesian forest fires has been shown to increase haze related illnesses, such as upper respiratory illnesses and acute conjunctivitis, in Singapore.[30]
The Indonesian government estimated that the haze crisis would cost it between 300 and 475 trillion rupiah (up to US$35 billion or S$47 billion) to mitigate.[31] School closures due to the haze were implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; these affected nearly four million students in Malaysia alone.[32][33][34] Among the events disrupted or even cancelled due to the haze were the 2015 FINA Swimming World Cup in Singapore and the Kuala Lumpur Marathon in Malaysia.
Heavy rains in Sumatra and Kalimantan in the last days of October 2015 significantly reduced the size and number of fires, and improved the air quality in most affected areas.[2][3][35][36] In turn, the NEA of Singapore stopped issuing haze advisories from 15 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Haze envelopes parts of Riau province in Indonesia". The Straits Times. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ^ a b c WAHYUDI SOERIAATMADJA (30 October 2015). "Heavy rain clears haze as Jokowi arrives in S. Sumatra". The Straits Times.
- ^ a b "Rain in Indonesia Dampens Forest Fires That Spread Toxic Haze". The New York Times. 29 October 2015.
- ^ "Haze kills 10 people, leaves 503,874 with respiratory ailments: Agency".
- ^ Bangun Santoso (14 September 2015). "Tewas Akibat 'Tercekik' Asap" (in Indonesian). Liputan 6. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ AMS (4 October 2015). Ini Daftar Korban Tewas Akibat Kabut Asap (video) (in Indonesian). Metro TV News. Event occurs at 10:24. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ Banda Haruddin Tanjung (18 September 2015). "Gara-Gara Kabut Asap, Biker Tewas Tabrak Mobil Pemadam" (in Indonesian). Okezone. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "Akibat Kabut Asap, Dua Tewas (Laka Tunggal, Tabrak Tiang Listrik)" (in Indonesian). Balikpapan Pos. 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
illnessnumberwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Why is South-East Asia's annual haze so hard to deal with?". The Economist. 7 July 2013.
- ^ "South-East Asia haze: What is slash-and-burn?". BBC. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Haze chokes Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore". BBC. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Image of Asia: Wildfires in Indonesia Spread Haze". The Straits Times. The Associated Press. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ Endi, Severianus (10 September 2015). "West Kalimantan on high smog alert". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "1,500 Soldiers Deployed to Fight Forest Fires in South Kalimantan". Tempo. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ a b Soeriaatmadja, Wahyudi; Boh, Samantha; Lai, Linette (15 September 2015). "Riau declares emergency as haze worsens". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "Land Fires: Thick Haze in Central Kalimantan Capital". Jakarta Globe. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "379 hot spots detected in South Kalimantan". The Jakarta Post. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "Police name 126 people as suspects in land fire cases". Antara. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Oktama, Carla Isati. "Six Provinces Declare State of Emergency as Haze Worsens". The Jakarta Globe. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ^ "Indonesia declares emergency as brush-fire smoke chokes region". Al Jazeera America. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja (15 September 2015). "Thousands flee Pekanbaru as haze hits record high". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "Jakarta declares emergency in Riau over haze". AsiaOne. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ Soeriaatmadja, Wahyudi (2 October 2015). "Thick haze grounds firefighting copters". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ^ "Borneo Palangkaraya Air Pollution Break 3000 points!". Marufish World of Disaster Prevention.
- ^ "Indonesia needs better aircraft for water-bombing operations". The Straits Times. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ Koplitz et al.: Public health impacts of the severe haze in Equatorial Asia in September–October 2015: demonstration of a new framework for informing fire management strategies to reduce downwind smoke exposure. Environmental Research Letters Vol. 11, No. 9, 2016, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/094023.
- ^ G.F. (13 October 2017). "Why the North American west is on fire". The Economist.
- ^ "Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia refute study on haze causing 100,000 deaths". Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Sheldon, Sankaran, Tamara, Chandini (2017). "The Impact of Indonesian Forest Fires on Singaporean Pollution and Health". American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings. 5 (107): 526–529. doi:10.1257/aer.p20171134. PMID 29558063.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Chan, Francis (11 October 2015). "$47b? Indonesia counts costs of haze". The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ^ Au, Eunice. "Schools closed in Malaysia as haze reaches hazardous levels". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ "Islands in focus: City to extend school closure over haze frenzy". The Jakarta Post. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ Chan Luo Er, Leong Wai Kit. "Schools to close on Friday due to worsening haze situation: MOE". Channel News Asia. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Hujan 3 Hari Usir Kepekatan Kabut Asap di Sumatera dan Kalimantan". liputan6.com. 30 October 2015.
- ^ "BMKG: Hujan di Kalimantan dan Sumatera Redakan Asap". Tempo Nasional. 28 October 2015.