00:00What's different about this year's haze?
00:02The haze season has arrived, particularly in parts of Sarawak,
00:06where the API readings have shot up to over 200,
00:09forcing schools and kindergartens to close.
00:12But what's so unusual about the haze season this year?
00:15For one, it's coming on top of what scientists have forecast
00:19to be one of the strongest El Nino events in years,
00:22one that could be even stronger than those of 2015-2016 and 1997-1998.
00:28El Nino is a natural climate pattern which tends to bring hotter,
00:32drier weather in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
00:36This means there is a higher likelihood of drought and heat,
00:39creating conditions for fires to spread quickly and produce more smoke, that is haze.
00:45According to reports as of July 27,
00:48satellite fire monitoring platform Firewatch
00:51had detected over 96,000 hotspots across Indonesia
00:54compared to about 88,000 during the same period in 2019 and 58,000 in 2023.
01:01So will haze be extra bad this year?
01:04Not necessarily.
01:06The haze is bad in Sarawak this year
01:08because many of the fires burning now
01:10are along the border with western Kalimantan, Indonesia
01:13and the winds are blowing the smoke over.
01:15But conditions may improve later this year
01:18when the winds start to weaken during the inter-monsoon period in late October
01:21and change direction as the northeast monsoon sets in around November.
01:26So while the fires may still be burning in Indonesia,
01:30at least the winds are not likely to blow the smoke in our direction,
01:34provided we do not add to the haze by burning any fire of our own.
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