Indonesian Wildfires Trigger Hazardous Air Quality Across Southeast Asia
5 sources across 4 countries · Indonesia · Hong Kong · Philippines · Singapore · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- Tempo English
- The Jakarta Post
- South China Morning Post
- Philippine Daily Inquirer
- The Straits Times
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
Forest and land fires in Indonesia, particularly across Kalimantan and Sumatra, have caused air quality to reach hazardous levels in several countries, prompting school closures and public health warnings. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that air quality in South and West Kalimantan has reached hazardous levels, reducing visibility to under 3 kilometers in some areas. In the Philippines, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources warned that air quality in parts of Metro Manila reached acutely unhealthy levels, leading Quezon City to suspend classes. Similarly, six districts in Malaysia's Sarawak state recorded hazardous Air Pollutant Index readings, with the capital, Kuching, hitting 407. Singapore's Meteorological Service warned that haze may hit the city state in the next two weeks due to persisting dry conditions in the region.
Indonesian authorities have deployed ground crews and aerial assets, including water bombing aircraft and helicopters, to contain the blazes. While some cloud seeding operations have been conducted, officials noted that weather modification is currently hindered in some areas by a lack of cloud formations. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni stated that reducing wildfires will be challenging as the super El Niño weather phenomenon peaks in September. He described the devastation as largely man made, noting that fires are often deliberately set by individuals or corporations to clear land for agriculture. The health ministry reported over 50,000 cases of acute respiratory infection across seven provinces between July and August.
Outlets with a center left lean focused on the operational details of the firefighting efforts and the systemic causes of the fires, such as corporate land clearing and the impact of El Niño. Outlets with a center right lean emphasized the regional health warnings and the specific atmospheric conditions leading to the transboundary haze affecting neighboring countries.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Focused on the government's firefighting operations and the man made causes of the wildfires.
- Centre
- Reported primarily on the specific air quality index levels and health advisories in Metro Manila.
- Centre-right
- Emphasized the public health risks and the spread of haze to neighboring countries.
Sources
- Centre Philippine Daily Inquirer: Metro Manila areas still at ‘acutely’ unhealthy air quality level
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: Philippine capital’s ‘acutely unhealthy’ air due to Indonesian haze spurs warnings
- Centre-left Tempo English: BNPB: Air Quality in Kalimantan Reaches Hazardous Level
- Centre-left The Jakarta Post: Reducing wildfires will be challenging as El Niño peaks this month, minister war...
- Centre-right The Straits Times: Haze may hit Singapore in next 2 weeks as dry conditions in region expected to persist: Met Service
93% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.