Haze levels still ‘very unhealthy’ as Indonesia battles fires

PEKANBARU: Indonesia has sent nearly 21,000 personnel to fight forest fires raging in its northern islands, the disaster management agency said, but smoke cloaks much of the region with pollution readings in the “very unhealthy” region in neighbouring Singapore.

Slash-and-burn agriculture has blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and northern Indonesia in a choking “haze” for weeks, pushing up pollution levels and disrupting flights, as it does every year.