SINGAPORE — Singapore urged people to remain indoors because of record air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically. Nearby Malaysia closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some areas.
The Pollutant Standards Index, Singapore's main measure of air pollution, surged to a record 371, breaching the "hazardous" classification that can aggravate respiratory ailments. The previous high before this week was in 1997, when the index reached 226.
The hazardous reading lasted three hours before easing to 253 in the evening, still "very unhealthy."
Smog fueled by raging Indonesian blazes has hit Singapore and Malaysia many times, often in the middle of the year, but the severity of this week's conditions has strained diplomatic ties. Officials in Singapore say Jakarta must do more to halt fires on Sumatra island started by plantation owners and farmers to clear land cheaply.
"This is now the worst haze that Singapore has ever faced," Singapore Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan wrote on his Facebook page. "No country or corporation has the right to pollute the air at the expense of Singaporeans' health and wellbeing."
An Indonesian Cabinet minister criticized the public Singaporean statements, saying they should have been conveyed through diplomatic channels.
"Singapore should not act like children, making all that noise," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said.
The haze has shrouded the city-state's skyscrapers in a pall of noxious fumes and posed numerous inconveniences for Singaporeans, some of whom complained of coughs and covered their faces with handkerchiefs or masks while walking outdoors.
