So Hazy! Part II

The hazy situation is getting worse and PSI is only 131 as of 9 am. 

Is there something wrong with NEA's measurement equipment?

No doubt this figure is an average figure taken over 3 hours but the difference should not be so big...

The haze looks even worse than when the all time high PSI reading was taken yesterday night at 10 pm which was a shocking 321.

 

Hazy 'city' view taken from Park Central

I have found the following excerpts from Yahoo News very 'interesting' with my personal thoughts in blue:

 

1. Indonesian senior official Sony Partono told Reuters, "Foreign parties should not be interfering with our domestic affairs." He added, "The most important thing is that we have attempted to control the damage resulting from the forest fires," and said fire trucks had been dispatched to affected areas (source). (Are you sure this situation can be resolved by just fire trucks? No casualties? How about your fellow Indonesians who are suffering the same fate as us?)

2. Corruption and Indonesia's decentralised political system have hindered efforts to stem the haze problem, said Jackson Ewing, a researcher at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. "Burning is quick, efficient and requires very little labour to clear land," he said. "Government actors at the local level are colluding with private interests and central government authorities have difficulty influencing what is happening on the ground." (source) (This is nothing new to us...)

3. Environment and National Resources Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan urged Indonesians "to enforce their own laws" in a Facebook post on Monday night. "We are deeply concerned that the 113 hotspots in Sumatra have caused our 3 hour PSI to rise to 152. NEA has been in touch with the Indonesian authorities to register our concern, and renew our offer of assistance," he wrote. "For too long, commercial interests in Indonesia have been allowed to over ride environmental concerns," he added, saying he would personally speak to his counterpart in Indonesia to "personally to convey the seriousness of the situation."  (source) (Cloud seeding cannot be used in Singapore? I am sure even if the rain falls outside the boundaries of Singapore but in the correct wind direction, it will still provide a brief respite...)

4. PM Lee also said Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam and Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan have both called their Indonesian counterparts to register Singapore’s “serious concerns and offer our help to fight the fires.” 

A joint statement released by both ministries on Tuesday highlighted to Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Marty Natalegawa and Indonesian Environment Minister Dr Balthasar Kambuaya that Singapore’s PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) reading “had breached 150” on Monday, and “had entered into the unhealthy zone.” They also “emphasized the urgency of the situation while also reaffirming Singapore’s commitment to help Indonesia fight the fires in Sumatra.” According to the statement, Dr Balakrishnan also “requested that Indonesia share relevant information to improve monitoring of hotspots and land clearing activities.” 

On a claim made by an Indonesian Forestry Ministry official on Monday that Malaysian and Singapore palm oil companies that had invested in Indonesia may be responsible for starting the fires in Riau, both ministers “asked Indonesia to share the names of errant companies involved in illegal burning”.  In an interview with The Straits Times on Tuesday, Dr Marty said he had had a good talk with Shanmugam and he hoped experts from both countries’ environment and forestry ministries could meet soon to “compare notes on what's happening and where, and what's being done." (source) (What notes do you want to compare? Just put out the fires first la... Compare all you want after the haze is gone... I wonder if the Indonesia authorities will really reveal the companies responsible for the illegal burning...)