Malaysia refutes Harvard study that haze killed 6,500

Police spray water to extinguish a peat fire in Kampar, Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia August 29, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Rony Muharrman/via REUTERS/File photoATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN INDONESIA.INDONESIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN INDONESIA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has refuted a Harvard and Columbia University study claiming that the 2015 South-East Asian haze caused 6,500 deaths in the country.

The study, which is expected to be published in the Environmental Research Letters (ERL) journal, also claimed that there were 100,300 premature deaths in the region due to the haze; 91,600 in Indonesia and 2,200 in Singapore.