Haze struggles continue

 PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s neighbours are also feeling the heat as fires rage across Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, causing haze to spread to the rest of the region.

The phenomenon has been linked by many to recent forest fires caused by the indiscriminate burning of large fields of crop waste after the February harvest season.

In Laos, fires raged across hundreds of hectares of land in various parts of the country due to farmers burning scrubland in preparation for crop planting, reported Vientiane Times on March 28.

Local authorities had deployed over 400 soldiers and other individuals to help contain the wildfires that had spread across hundreds of acres of mountain and forest reserves in Pakngum, Sangthong and Viengkham districts near the capital of Vientiane, but it was a struggle due to a lack of equipment.

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These fires combined with other hotspots across the country have caused many​ areas of Laos to be covered in thick haze now, which has been deemed to greatly exceed safe levels, Laos’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment ​warned.

In Vientiane, thick smog has led to low visibility and its local health authorities are recommending residents to either mask up when venturing outdoors or to stay indoors indefinitely until conditions improve.

The daily also reported that the government has since instructed ministries to work with local authorities to contain or extinguish forest fires and to be on the lookout for fires and to arrange patrols in forest areas that are potential fire hazards.

A public campaign was also launched to raise awareness on the issue, its causes and dangers, and ways to stay safe during times of severe air pollution.

In neighbouring Thailand, authorities continue to fight an uphill battle against recurring fires and thick haze that have decimated its northern provinces over the past few months, reported Thai daily Bangkok Post.

The fires have caused widespread thick haze to blanket most of the country with the hot weather also causing a large fire to flare up in its southernmost province of Yala. Betong, the southernmost district in Yala, is reportedly shrouded in thick haze.

The fires are believed to have been caused by the local burning of ever-growing fields of corn stubbles for new crops despite the Thai government declaring a zero-burn policy in March which they failed to enforce, reported Thai news portal CTN Newson on April 18.

Some of the fires in northern Thailand are said to have spread from neighbouring Laos, forcing the closure of a number of national parks in Thailand and vice versa.

Residents, especially those in the northern provinces, have since expressed anger at the government’s failure to curb the spread of wildfires. Residents in Chiang Mai are suing the Thai government.

In Myanmar, a massive haze could be seen also blanketing most of the country, which is attributed to the large amount of hotspots in its southern regions, making it another contributor to the haze in the region, based on data from the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for Asean on April 18.

According to Vientiane Times, leaders from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand held talks recently to discuss a joint effort to address the transboundary haze pollution, which has risen to dangerous levels in many parts of their respective countries.

The leaders proposed creating cooperation mechanisms to exchange lessons learnt and best practices to be pursued by all three countries to address the widespread use of the slash and burn crop cultivation method which has resulted in the fires across the three countries.

The three premiers also agreed to further collaborate with the seven other Asean member countries in tackling the issue. - Star