Haze Fires Expose Cost of Land-Clearing Practices

Fires in Indonesia have sent haze across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines as land is cleared through slash-and-burn practices, said Ben Churchill, the World Meteorological Organization’s regional director. He said the three countries face one of the worst transboundary haze episodes, which could last weeks or months until winds change and rain drenches the fires.

Land Clearing and the Smoke

Churchill, director of the WMO regional office for Asia and the Pacific, said the ongoing El Niño was on track to be the strongest ever observed. It brings hotter, drier weather to the equatorial ASEAN region, and it began as the dry season started. Churchill called the combination “the perfect storm” for fires to persist and spread.

Fires break out when people clear land using traditional slash-and-burn practices, he said. Later, he pointed to “the farmers and the companies that are responsible for the fires,” and said land practices and regulations needed to change. The account provides no figures on profits or land ownership, and names no companies.

Churchill said about half of the world’s smoke haze came from Indonesia during the seven days from Oct. 8, citing the European Union’s Copernicus programme’s Fire Emissions Watch service. The service monitors Earth using satellite data and other sources.

Who Breathes the Haze

Singapore recorded 13 consecutive days of unhealthy Pollutant Standards Index readings, its longest continuous stretch since the 2015 haze crisis. Air quality counts as unhealthy when the PSI exceeds 100 at any point in any part of Singapore.

“We’re seeing more and more unhealthy days and hours creeping in. My expectation is that this will continue,” Churchill said. At an Oct. 16 press conference, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu warned the country should prepare for prolonged haze and that air quality could breach hazardous levels.

Fu said conditions might improve only when winds become lighter and more variable, which was expected in three to four weeks. A reprieve might come closer to the end of the year, she said, when winds shift from their current southerly direction and blow from the north, pushing haze away from Singapore.

Churchill said human-driven climate change is raising global temperatures and making El Niño events and severe transboundary haze episodes more frequent and intense. The wet phase of the north-east monsoon brings higher rainfall to Southeast Asia around December. Churchill said monsoon rains later in the year offered the only relief beyond active firefighting.

Government Response and Its Limits

Fu said she had contacted her Indonesian counterpart, Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat, to offer civilian assistance with firefighting and cloud seeding. Churchill proposed that ASEAN pool firefighting resources, invest in equipment member states could share, exchange technical expertise and enable crews from neighbouring countries to deploy rapidly.

He also cited Australia’s reciprocal disaster-management arrangements with New Zealand, the United States and Canada, which let support personnel and equipment deploy and integrate quickly. Regional cooperation on early warnings and forecasts could help people protect themselves, Churchill said, while countries work together to tackle fires and stop future episodes from reaching such extreme levels.

Churchill said the WMO warned in June that a strong El Niño would develop in 2026. Early notice of impending weather events needs to reach policymakers planning infrastructure, the agricultural sector, and people at community and individual levels, he said. Forecasts and emergency crews address fires and their effects, but Churchill also called for changes to land practices, tighter regulations and education for farmers and companies responsible for fires.

The timing of the seasonal transition remains uncertain. Churchill said research showed strong El Niño conditions usually disrupt such shifts. An updated forecast was due to be presented at the ASEAN Climate Outlook Forum in late October. “The very best is not always enough,” Churchill said of firefighting and international support, adding that the region was hoping for monsoon rain.