What causes South East Asia's haze?

張貼日期：Jan 21, 2017 2:30:13 PM

Sum Xuan Ye

The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. In this essay I will include the direct causes and indirect causes of the South East Asia Haze.

Firstly, forest fires become a problem every year during the annual dry season, when fires are lit to clear and/or prepare land for agriculture.The smoke from the fires creates massive air pollution -- commonly referred to as “haze” -- across Indonesia and neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore. Fires occur throughout Indonesia and on all types of soils, but fires on peatlands are of particular concern as they cause up to 90% of the haze, releasing three to six times more particulate matter than fires on other types of soil. Peatlands are concentrated in lowland areas of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua, where the worst impacts of the fires and haze have been felt.

Next, forest fires have become a seasonal phenomenon in Indonesia. At the root of the problem is the practice of forest clearance known as slash and burn, where land is set on fire as a cheaper way to clear it for new planting. Peat soil, which characterizes much of the affected areas, is highly flammable, causing fires to spread and making them difficult to stop.

Then, the haze comes from fires set to clear forest land for agriculture, often palm-oil plantations. It is an annual occurrence but many researchers say it is worse this year because of severe drought caused by El Nino. For 18 years, large pulp and paper industries and palm oil plantations have farmed the rich peatlands that run along the Sumatran coast of Indonesia and Borneo Island. Every year, existing farmland is dried out and burned for the next season's crop. The fires are large and hard to control and dry CO2-rich peatlands can burn for many weeks.

As a conclusion, laws regulations must be changed and strengthened. If the authorities work hand in hand to curb environment crime, I believe that the haze that is affecting everyone might improve and perhaps the problem might be solved.