page_title: 2019 Southeast Asian haze
hierarchical_section_title: 2019 Southeast Asian haze
caption_attribution_description: English: After several relatively quiet fire seasons in Indonesia, an abundance of blazes in Kalimantan (part of Borneo) and Sumatra in September 2019 has blanketed the region in a pall of thick, noxious smoke. Caption by Adam Voiland.
context_page_description: A trans-national air pollution crisis affected several countries in Southeast Asia from February to September 2019, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  Thailand began to experience a haze in February that lasted until May, peaking in March and April. Indonesia began to experience haze between June and July. Malaysia was affected from August, while Singapore, Brunei, and Vietnam experienced haze in September.
  It was the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It was mainly caused by forest fires resulting from illegal slash-and-burn clearing performed on behalf of the palm oil industry in Indonesia, principally on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, which then spread quickly in the dry season.
context_section_description: A trans-national air pollution crisis affected several countries in Southeast Asia from February to September 2019, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  Thailand began to experience a haze in February that lasted until May, peaking in March and April. Indonesia began to experience haze between June and July. Malaysia was affected from August, while Singapore, Brunei, and Vietnam experienced haze in September.
  It was the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It was mainly caused by forest fires resulting from illegal slash-and-burn clearing performed on behalf of the palm oil industry in Indonesia, principally on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, which then spread quickly in the dry season.
caption: A NASA satellite image showing the extent of the haze in Borneo on 15 September 2019.
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