Unhealthy air warning for travellers to Indonesia and Malaysia
Travellers to Indonesia are being warned of poor air quality caused by smoke haze, which has also spread to neighbouring Malaysia over the past couple of weeks.
The Foreign Office said the smog was particularly bad in the Riau Islands, central Sumatra – where Indonesia has declared a state of emergency – and Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
However, Malaysia also been badly affected and poor visibility has led to travel disruption and flight cancellations.
In Kuala Lumpur schools are closed and the air quality in three neighbouring states has been ranked as ‘very unhealthy’ or ‘unhealthy’.
It’s an annual problem in the region due to the illegal burning of land in Sumatra and Borneo to clear the way for palm oil and paper and pulp plantations, however it is particularly bad this year due to a longer than usual dry season.
Malaysia will deploy cloud-seeking aircraft above Kuala Lumpur and over Sarawak, a Malaysian state on Borneo, over the next three days to try to trigger rain to help clear the smoke ahead of the monsoon season, due at the end of the month.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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