Hoping to prevent Singapore from being smothered in smog again, the city-state has extended to Malaysia an offer of assistance to combat possible land and forest fires.
Also, as in previous years, it has offered to Indonesia an assistance package to help suppress fires in the run up to the upcoming dry season, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) said in a statement by on Tuesday.
As before, Singapore has offered to Indonesia the following: one aircraft for cloud seeding, two for ferrying Singapore Civil Defence Force fire-fighting assistance teams, an SCDF team for planning and assessment; and high resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates.
"We hope this will help to prevent another episode of severe haze in the region," the ministry said.
Singapore saw its worst haze episode in 2013 when the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit an unprecedented high of 246 on 20 June 2013.
Also, in March this year, the city-state was affected by haze from Peninsular Malaysia. That month, the 24-hour PSI entered the "moderate" range and reached a high of 75 on 12 March 2014.
MEWR said the assistance offered to Malaysia's government is to help combat land and forest fires "should such a need arise".
The ministry warned that, given the possibility of the El Nino weather phenomenon, smoke haze pollution in the region "could reach worse levels this year if fires are not promptly stemmed at source".
Illegal land clearing and 'slash and burn' agricultural practices in Indonesia are said to be the main cause of fires causing the transboundary haze.
With regards to El Nino, a weather phenomenon that leads to abnormal warming of ocean waters, the United Kingdom Meteorological Office reportedly forecasted a 70 per cent probability of it happening in Southeast Asia in the middle of this year.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-offers-haze-assistance-packages-to-both-indonesia-and-malaysia-101406072.html
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar