Singapore
has been hit by the worst air pollution crisis in its history, while government
agencies try to induce rain in an attempt to stop forest fires spreading a smoky
haze across three south-east Asian countries.
The average Pollution Standard Index (PSI) – the measurement for air pollution – hit 401 at midday today, beating previous records of 371 and 321 on the previous two days. A reading between 101 and 200 is considered unhealthy. Anything over 300 is “hazardous”.
It is six days since the clouds of smoke first descended on Singapore, the result of fires in neighbouring Sumatra, Indonesia. Blaze season usually runs from June to September, when land is illegally cleared in this fashion for palm plantations.
Singapore’s environment minister flew to Jakarta today to discuss measures to tackle the forest fires, and the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency said it plans to use helicopters in a “water-bombing” operation, alongside more than 100 firefighters on the ground.
The agency added that planes would be sent over parts of Sumatra in the next few days in a “cloud-seeding” effort to try to induce rain chemically.
source:::::The Independent UK
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