Ms. Fawziah Selamat, Deputy Director (Sustainability), Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) was quoted in a Lianhe Zaobao article on the current fires in Indonesia, and whether there is a chance that they might affect Singapore. Below is her original quote in English.
“We are seeing more hotspots this year compared to 2016 and 2017. However, provinces like Riau and South Sumatra, which are closest to Singapore, remain relatively haze-free and have been haze-free for the last two years. This suggests processes for managing and containing fires are working. In addition, Indonesia is acting more swiftly now whenever hotspots are detected and coordinating action more effectively, such as placing affected areas under disaster alerts that can speed up the mobilising of troops, distribution of fire-fighting equipment, and disbursing of funds.
As for whether the current fires will affect Singapore, this is highly unlikely as prevailing south-west winds will blow any smoke further inland towards southern parts of Sumatra rather than towards Singapore.”
Full Article: 印尼出现烟霾 我国未来两周影响不大 [Lianhe Zaobao, 22 Feb 2018] (Requires Login)
