Haze covers Malaysian capital, outlying areas
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Kuala Lumpur (dpa) - A haze enveloped the Malaysian capital and most of the peninsula Thursday due to land-clearing fires in neighbouring Indonesia, the environment and meteorological departments said.
Hisham Anip, spokesman for Malaysia's meteorological department said the haze would likely last until mid-September when the monsoon season ends.
He said winds were blowing the smoke from Indonesia's plantation and forest fires to Malaysia and Singapore. Open burning is common in Indonesia as it was the fastest way to clear land.
The latest data from the meteorological department showed there were 25 fires in Sumatra and 94 in Kalimantan.
Junaidi Jaafar, Malaysia's natural resources and environment minister, urged Indonesia to act immediately on the open burning to prevent the haze from worsening.
Junaidi said he would be meeting with his Indonesian counterpart soonto discuss the problem.
