‘Worst haze in a decade’ blankets South Thailand

Visibility down: Yala city is covered in haze as smog shrouds Muang district in the troubled southern province. — Reuters

BANGKOK: Dense haze produced by Indonesian forest fires has caused some of the worst pollution levels in southern Thailand for a decade, officials said, delaying flights in an area popular with tourists.

For nearly two months, thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn farming have suffocated vast expanses of South-East Asia, causing rates of respiratory illnesses to soar, schools to close and scores of flights and some international events to be cancelled.