The 2005 Malaysian haze was an

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

crisis caused primarily by fires in neighbouring

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. In August 2005, haze spread across

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

from forest fires on the Indonesian island of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, leading to air quality reaching hazardous levels in certain states and the capital city,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. The Malaysian government declared states of emergency in affected regions, closed schools and held crisis talks with Indonesian officials. Farmers regularly burn scrub and forest to clear land during the dry season for agricultural purposes. The 2005 haze was at the time the worst to hit Malaysia since

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. On 10 August 2005, air quality in the Malaysian capital city of

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

was so poor that health officials advised citizens to stay at home with doors closed. Some schools were closed to keep children from being exposed to the haze.

State of emergency in Port Klang and Kuala Selangor

On 11 August 2005, a state of emergency was announced for the world's 12th largest

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Port Klang Port Klang ( ms, Pelabuhan Klang) is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Known during colonial times as Port Swettenham ( ms, Pelabuhan Swettenham) but renamed Port Klang in July 1972, it is the largest port in the country. It is l ...

and the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of Kuala Selangor after air pollution there reached dangerous levels (defined as a value greater than 500 on the Air Pollution Index or API). This was the first time the state of emergency had been imposed in Malaysia since the September 1997 haze, when Sarawak was placed in a state of emergency due to similar reasons. The state of emergency in the two affected areas meant that schools, government officials, the port, and offices were closed. Shops carrying necessities, however, such as supermarkets and pharmacies remained open. After the API levels dropped to acceptable levels, the state of emergency was lifted on 13 August.

Resolution

By 13 August 2005, air quality and visibility returned to normal in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, as the haze moved northwards to the states of Perlis, Kedah and Penang, according to th
Department of Environment (JAS) API reading
On 16 August, air quality throughout

had returned to norma
according to JAS statistics
as the haze was blown further northwards into

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation. KLIA is the largest and b ...

was unaffected during the hazy period but flights for non- ILS equipped planes from Subang airport were suspended until conditions cleared on 13 August. Cloud seeding operations using RMAF

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desi ...

s were used throughout

, although the haze had moved north of Malaysia into

and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

. Malaysia's Environment Minister,

Adenan Satem Pehin Sri Tan Sri Haji Adenan bin Haji Satem ( ms, حاج عدنان بن حاج صتيم , label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 27 January 1944 – 11 January 2017), popularly known as Tok Nan, was a Malaysian politician who served as t ...

, and Commodities Minister,

Peter Chin Peter Wing Ho Chin, CNZM () (born 1941) is a lawyer and was the 56th Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand. He served two terms as Mayor from 2004 to 2010. Early life and career Peter Chin is a descendant of the earliest Chinese immigrants to New Ze ...

, met with Indonesia's forestry minister and officials from its environment ministry in Medan.

had sent 125 firefighters while

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

had sent 12 bushfire experts to fight Indonesia's estimated more than a thousand forest and scrub fires (estimate reached by counting hotspots greater than 1 km on satellite imagery, example of such an image shown below). Other nations pledged aid to

, including an offer from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

of planes for cloud seeding.

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and

also offered help. On 22 August,

extended its cloud seeding operations to include

, as requested by Indonesia. The haze made a brief return on 11 September.http://www.jas.sains.my/jas/API+11+SEPT+2005.htm

API readings

The air pollutant index readings (API) were released for the first time by the Malaysian government since 1997. Up to date readings are available for the 51 sites monitored automatically and continuously vi
the Department of Environment, Malaysia
The following are API readings recorded during the onset of haze on 10 August 2005 (refer to thi
Related article from the New Straits Times
: *

424 * Kuala Selangor 418 *

Shah Alam Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selango ...

349 * Putrajaya 337 *

Petaling Jaya ) , website = , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling ...

304 *

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

276 * Tanjung Malim 205 *

Gombak The Gombak District is an administrative district located in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The district was created on February 1, 1974, the same day when Kuala Lumpur was declared a Federal Territory. Until 1997, Rawang was the district capi ...

200 * Country Heights, Kajang 185 *

Nilai Nilai is a town located in Seremban District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, close to the border with Selangor. It is the northern suburb within the Seremban metropolitan area. Due to its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it i ...

174 * Seremban 137 * Jerantut 131 * Bukit Rambai, Malacca 107

References

Malaysia seeks talks with Indonesia over choking haze (CRI)

Malaysia chokes on Indonesia's smoke (7news)

Malaysia haze worsens; schools close as air becomes hazardous (SP Times)

Haze in Malaysia closes schools (BBC)

Malaysians told to pray for rain (BBC)

External links

Eyewitness photographs of the haze

Forest fires result from government failure in Indonesia

Smoky haze chokes Southeast Asia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaysian Haze Smog events Haze Haze Air pollution in Malaysia Fires in Indonesia 2005 in the environment