Brunei[edit]

On 7 September 2019, Brunei experienced haze, which its government attributed to hot spots across
the Indonesian border in the Kalimantan provinces of Borneo.[12]

Indonesia[edit]

Jam Gadang in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia on 17 September 2019.

Following the previous critical 2015 Southeast Asian haze that traced its origin in Indonesia, forest
fires in the country returned in July with 42,740 hectares (105,600 acres) of land burned across the
country that causing trans-boundary haze towards Malaysia and Singapore.[13][14] The government
sent 9000 military, police and disaster agency personnel to fight the fires.[15]
In 2019, there were thousands of fires started in Indonesia, most of them set to clear land for
plantations that make palm oil. Fires created smoke that disrupted air travel and sickened
people.[16] Indonesia environment minister said smog was also from fires ignited from hotspots
in Malaysia and Vietnam. Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency said more than 3,600 fires had
been detected on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo by weather satellites. Malaysia sent a
diplomatic note urging Indonesia to take immediate action to address the fires. Malaysia shut more
than 400 schools and sent half a million face masks to the area to combat poor air quality.[17]
As of September, there were 885,026 cases of severe respiratory infections due to the haze;
291,807 came from South Sumatra, 268,591 from Riau, and 163,662 from West Kalimantan.[18]

Malaysia[edit]

Smoke engulfing Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, on 11 September 2019. The Petronas Towers are
barely visible in the photo.

Early in February, forest and peatlands in Pahang caught fire.[19] In early August, Klang was
shrouded in dense haze caused by fires in Riau, which was exacerbated by a fire at a nearby forest
reserve. Major cities and towns in the state of Sarawak, such as Kuching, were also affected by
haze from hot spots in Kalimantan. Malaysia also activated its National Action Plan for Open Burning
and its existing National Haze Action Plan on 14 August, as air quality in Kuala Baram
and Miri reached hazardous levels. In Rompin, Pahang, the Air Pollution Index (API) recorded on the
18th of August was 223, which is categorized as being "very unhealthy". Several other Malaysian
states and federal territories such as Kuala Lumpur, Negeri
Sembilan, Penang, Putrajaya and Selangor were also affected by haze from Sumatra in Indonesia
while the state of Sarawak had been affected by fires in the state since July and from neighbouring
Kalimantan, Indonesia since August.[11][20][21] 2.4 hectares of forest also burned in Johor in
August.[22] Spotify Malaysia created a playlist called Hazed and Confused that included songs about
fire and burning.[23]

Philippines[edit]
On 17 September 2019, based on the initial report of regional offices of the Environment
Management Bureau (EMB), it was confirmed by the agency and the authorities of General Santos
City that prolonged hazy skies are experienced in Mindanao and Visayas, particularly Cebu City.
Hazy conditions have also been experienced in Koronadal, Tupi, and Davao City.[24][25]
Singapore[edit]
On 26 August 2019, there was slight haze in Singapore, with conditions gradually improving over the
day. This was possibly due to fires in Sumatra, Indonesia, or Johor, Malaysia.[26]
On 9 September 2019, there was again slight haze in Singapore, possibly due to an increase in hot
spots in Sumatra, Indonesia.[27] These slightly hazy conditions persisted.[28] At 4pm on 14 September
2019, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) entered the "unhealthy" range of above 100 for
the first time since 2016,[29] starting from 103 in western Singapore. The PSI steadily climbed
up[30] with all parts of Singapore registering "unhealthy" PSI readings at 1am the next day, peaking at
124 from 5am to 8am in western Singapore.[31] Despite this, the air quality improved over the next
two days, resulting in the PSI dropping back to "moderate" levels.[32]
However, on 18 September 2019, the haze returned to Singapore, resulting in the PSI increasing to
"unhealthy" levels.[33] This caused Firefly to cancel all flights from Seletar Airport for the next two
days.[34][35] The next day, the PSI peaked at 154 around 4am in southern Singapore before improving
progressively,[36] with all parts of Singapore registering a "moderate" level by 9pm.[37]
On 21 September 2019, the PSI hit unhealthy levels once again, with fears that the haze could affect
a Formula 1 race.[38] The PSI stayed in the unhealthy range for most of the next day, with rain
forecasted to bring relief should it happen.[39]

Thailand[edit]
Early in March, an area in northern Thailand was engulfed by haze from forest fires in Chiang
Mai and Chiang Rai provinces as well as from the border with Myanmar.[3][40] Million hectares of
forested lands in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong
Son, Nan, Phayao, Phrae and Tak provinces were destroyed.[41]
Furthermore, in July, around 2,318.88 hectares (5,730.1 acres) of forest and farmlands in Pa Phru
Kuan Kreng of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province and surrounding areas in southern Thailand have
been destroyed by fires.[4] In September, haze from Indonesia plantation fires reached the southern
area of Thailand especially in Phuket City.[42] The Air Quality Index in Phuket reached about 158 as
of 9am on 23 September 2019.[43]

Vietnam[edit]
After the 2019 Vietnam forest fires affected central Vietnam in mid-June and dissipated in August,
the southern area of Vietnam especially Ho Chi Minh City began to be covered with heavy smog in
September. Through monitoring and air pollution test results show that forest fires in Indonesia
combined with the city large emissions become the main cause of heavy air pollution in the southern
region of Vietnam.[44][45][46]

Response from authorities and joint agreement[edit]

In August, all of the involved countries reached an agreement to prevent land and forest fires that
are causing transboundary haze pollution with the hope to achieve a haze-free Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by the year 2020.[47]

Brunei[edit]
The Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation of Brunei (JASTRe) set to introduce a law
that will tackle "rampant open burning" in the country to mitigate bush and forest fires.[48]

Indonesia[edit]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has instructed the country National Board for Disaster
Management (BNPB), National Armed Forces (TNI), and the National Police (POLRI) to deal with
the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.[49][50] The President also threatens to sack firefighters if the
forest fires are not tackled immediately.[51]

Malaysia[edit]
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has dispatched two flights using the Bombardier
CL415 aircraft carrying 198,000 litres of water to fight forest fire in Miri.[52]
On 19 August 2019, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, the Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak,
announced that principals would be given discretion on closing their schools if API reading became
'unhealthy'.[53] On September 10, the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) sent 500,000
face masks to Sarawak amid worsening trans-boundary haze in the state.[54] The state of Johor's
Education Department closed down all schools and kindergartens in Pontian, Muar and Tangkak on
September 15 because of the haze, affecting over 64,000 students.[55] Putrajaya and Selangor also
announce the closure of 25 and 138 schools respectively for the 17th of September as the haze
situation worsened in those areas.[56][57] During September 19-21, all schools in Kuala Lumpur,
Putrajaya, Selangor, and Penang, totaling at 1,658 schools, were closed. Alongside that, 119
schools in Kedah, 147 in Perak, and 59 in Negeri Sembilan followed the closing on September 19.[58]
The Malaysian Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry said they
wanted concerted efforts taken in accordance with the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze
Pollution ratified by member countries.[59] Malaysian Health Ministry has cautioned members of the
public to cut down on outdoor physical activities and urged them to wear face masks, umbrellas and
caps when outdoors as well advising people to drink plenty of water and to seek immediate
treatment if they were not well.[60][61] The Menteri Besar of Selangor has announced that the state will
confiscate land in the state where farmers persist with open burning as well.
On 18 September 2019, the Ministry of Education announced new standard operating procedures
(SOPs) for school closures. The new guidelines state that school closures must be announced by
6pm daily should the API rises above 200.[62] In addition, all outdoor activities must be stopped if the
API exceeds 100.[63]

Singapore[edit]
The National Environment Agency of Singapore also started issuing daily advisories on the
haze.[64] Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education said that air purifiers are ready should the haze
worsen, with closure of schools when the Pollutant Standards Index reaches 300 and above.
Similarly, several agencies like Sport Singapore and MINDEF have announced plans to deal with the
haze.[65]
In addition, Singapore has a stockpile of 16 million N95 masks should the haze continue to
deteriorate further.[66] The Ministry of Education said that students could take their PSLE and national
examinations indoors, with air purifiers to be turned on if required.[67]

Thailand[edit]
Thailand's Nakhon Si Thammarat Province Governor Chamroen Tippayaponthada has offered
a ฿5,000 reward for evidence leading to the arrest of anyone suspected of starting the forest fires in
the province.[4] As a result of the haze from Indonesia reaching southern Thailand in September,
Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has issued a health advisory along with the distribution of
free health masks to people.[68]