City-state’s air quality hits unhealthy range

Calling for divine intervention: Hindu devotees praying for protection of their temple from a forest fire as the blaze spreads to the dry season and high temperatures in the Lawu mountain area at the Cetho temple in Karanganyar, Central Java. Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia. — AFP

Air quality in parts of the city-state hit unhealthy levels as winds brought haze from Indonesian forest fires to the city-state, its environment agency said.

Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia that strains relations with neighbouring countries. In recent years, smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand.