Haze disaster is worrying

By Amira Syafiqa

When walking around passed by people in public, do you see them wearing masks? If you noticed them in masks, it’s because of the occurrence of haze. The air quality has slightly gotten worst recently in certain places in Malaysia. These past few days, as the sun set, we are bound to see the sky enshrouded in the haze, resulting in an unclear, smoky, and gloomy view of the buildings.

Consequently, several schools have been ordered close in Malaysia at the instruction from the Ministry of Education due to the air pollution reaching unhealthy level. This kind of catastrophe worries us a lot!

It will be our concern that the haze is happening here, in Malaysia, which is one of the main issues for the citizens as it involves environment and health. It disrupts the health of its citizens because haze leads to the low quality of air for the citizens to breathe. The current disaster also reminds us of the past haze crisis. It portrays another outbreak of forest fires in Indonesia that spread harmful smoke lingering across parts of Southeast Asia.

Air pollution continues to be a problem in many parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, which have been badly affected. Malaysia has been beleaguered by periodic haze from a large scale of forest fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra land. Haze used to occur in 1990, 1997, 2005, and 2015 as a consequence of Indonesia forest fires.

The main cause of haze is the slash-and-burn practice by farmers and peat fires blown by the wind of Indonesia. Slash-and-burn is a method of agricultural purposes that involves the burning of plants in forests to form a field. The method usually includes cutting down the trees in particular areas. Farmers regularly burn the forest to clear land during the dry season for agricultural purposes.

Previous occurrence of haze

Back then in August 2005 Malaysia declared a state of emergency for Port Klang and the district of Kuala Selangor when the Air Pollutant Index (API) reached a hazardous level of almost 500, with Port Klang recording API of 424 and Kuala Selangor, 418 respectively.

Earlier than that, the haze has occurred in 1990 where Klang valley was obscured with haze. The main cause of air pollution in this area was a motor vehicle and industrial emissions. During this time, there was a development which resulted in a stream of construction activities, including the clearing of agricultural land for the building of roads, housing estates, industrial parks, and airport expansion.

Therefore, the development process particularly in urban-industrial areas and pollution from transport are the factors of haze phenomenon. In Klang Valley, there are two types of haze consisting of shallow localised haze and dense haze. Shallow localised haze usually happens in urban areas as a consequence of pollution activities by people.

Meanwhile, dense haze involves large-scale forest fires and open burning in Indonesia. The latest haze crisis before 2019 took place in 2015, where the reasons behind the crisis were similar to the previous years and the current year.

Why Indonesia forests burn each year

A smoky haze blanketed the Southeast Asian region almost every year, indicating the return of forest fires in Indonesia. But why do Indonesia’s forests burn each year? According to Indonesia’s national disaster agency, there were many hectares of land burnt this year from January to August alone. West and South Kalimantan, Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra are the most affected regions.

However, Indonesia cannot be the only one to blame as there were also cases of open burning in neighbouring Malaysia but it is incomparable to Indonesia. The burning usually happens from July to October during Indonesia’s dry season. So, it is a good opportunity for many farmers to clear vegetation for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations using the slash-and-burn method.

Slash-and-burn is illegal in Indonesia but has been made permissible to pursue for years, with some saying the corrupted and weak governance have contributed to the situation. This action had become out of control and spread to protected forested areas. 

It is not surprising the problem has accelerated in recent years, and there were more lands that have been cleared to expand the plantations for the profitable palm oil trade. Also, the burnt land becomes drier, resulting in the possibility to catch fire when there are slash-and-burn clearings next time.

In Jakarta, recently, two people died due to worsening haze condition in South Sumatra including an infant. According to The Star, a four-month old baby girl who lived in Talang Bulu village, South Sumatra died on Sunday, 15 September. It is also disheartening to hear such bad news thus action must be taken to prevent other possible fatality.

#MYClimateChange

Due to haze, hundreds of people marched from Sogo to Dataran Merdeka to voice out their dissatisfaction towards climate change where there is no action taken to solve this issue.

The rally was part of the Global Climate Strike, which took place in various cities around the world, to protest climate change. The gathering’s aim was to help create awareness since they were unable to do anything other than that. The participants have the same purpose joining the march which is to make the society and government realise that climate change is happening and they need to take action regarding the problem.

Protecting yourself from haze

Some precautions need to be taken because of poor air quality. Firstly, you need to keep updated with the local air quality. It is an update of the latest haze condition whether it is getting better or worse. Secondly, you need to avoid outdoor activities especially children, pregnant women, and those with chronic diseases. They should stay indoors when the haze has reached an unhealthy level. Thirdly, drink more water and eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.

They can help to improve the immune system such as helping them get rid of toxins absorbed through the skin and lungs. Consuming more fruits and vegetables help to reduce inflammation caused by fine particles in the air. Most importantly, you have to wear masks if you are going outdoor to protect yourself from the poor quality of air. 

Maybe we just see haze as mere smoke that spread around the sky and it will disappear but it is actually perilous as it can disrupt our health in several ways.

Haze phenomenon in Malaysia is a man-made disaster, caused by illegal burning of the forests and peat fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra island that include oil palm plantations. But the haze situation becomes worse with the contribution of domestic factors such as industrial activities, motor vehicle, and local open burning.

There is still no solution to stop the haze from occurring as it persists to become a regional pollution problem in Southeast Asia region year after year. Hence, you are advised to take safety measures by taking care of yourself. Stay indoors, drink enough water, and wear masks if you’re going out in the open, to prevent illnesses affected by the haze. ***

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