A Reminder of the 2013 Southeast Asian Haze and Who Is to Blame

The gravity of the 2013 Southeast Asian haze resonates with many of us simply because we haven't seen anything so bad ever. While the occasional bad air is not uncommon here because of the wind direction and the slash-and-burn practices that characterise much of the Indonesian agricultural scene, the effects of these practices in 2013 have never been more apparent. It literally took "bad air" to a whole different level.

But for the benefit of those who aren't quite clear what it is about, the 2013 Southeast Asian haze was a haze crisis that affected primarily the Southeast Asian countries during June-July 2013. It was a notorious event in the history of both Singapore and Malaysia for it had caused record high levels of pollution. According to the BBC News (2013), the 3-hour Pollutions Standards Index (PSI) in Singapore had reached a record high of 401 on 21 June 2013, surpassing the previous record of 226 during the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. Any value above that of 300 is hazardous where even healthy persons should take precautionary measures. Here are some pictures of the haze:

Slash-and-burn practices in Riau, Indonesia

Visibility reduced, among other side effects of the 2013 SEA haze

A bleak outlook on the haze.  

When low-level winds from the southeast or southwest during the June-september dry season brings smoke from forests being burned in Sumatra and Borneo islands to clear land for palm plantations, into neighbouring countries is coupled with the lack of rain in the region, health atrocities of the haze, along with the region's displeasure and discomfort are heightened. A longstanding blame game between nations resurfaced, with much of popular media's "hate" being directed at Indonesia as one can imply from this clip from the local mock-umentary, The Noose:

But is it really? Is it fair to accord the blame to an entire nation or would a more realistic accusation centre around particular individuals or organisations instead? Even in Indonesia, according to this CNN article just this year (The Air Pollution that's Choking Asia), "The exchange (between a group of farmers and environmental activists) underscores the long-running debate across southeast Asia about who, exactly, is responsible for Indonesia's peat fires. Farmers and environmental groups often accuse companies, many of which are headquartered in Singapore or Malaysia, of malfeasance. But many companies say such criticism is overblown, and that they have largely reformed their destructive land-clearing practices in recent years through voluntary reform initiatives like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an industry-led consortium."

Till now, this geopolitical debate is ongoing because blame cannot be accorded quickly nor is there an organisation or entity with sufficient international clout to do so; but fret not, I will address it to the best of my ability in a greater depth in the coming weeks. :)