2009 Southeast Asian haze
Haze over the Southeast Asia region in mid-2009
| Southeast Asian haze series |
|---|
 Haze in Borneo, 2019 |
| History |
| 1990s
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| 2000s
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| 2010s
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| Key topics |
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| Responses |
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| See also |
 Category |
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The 2009 Southeast Asian haze was an episode of large scale air pollution primarily caused by slash and burn practices used to clear land for agricultural purposes in Sumatra, Indonesia. It affected the areas surrounding the Straits of Malacca which besides Indonesia include Malaysia and Singapore.
The haze began in early June 2009 and progressively became worse toward July. With a prevailing dry season caused by El Nino, burning and hence the haze was expected to continue until August or September when the monsoon season arrived.[1]
Malaysia
Air Pollution Index
| Daily average API readings in June 2009 [1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | George Town | Kuala Lumpur | Malacca Town | Johor Bahru | Kuantan | Kuching |
| 1 | Unavailable | 57 | 51 | 41 | 65 | 29 |
| 2 | 40 | 73 | 52 | 46 | 41 | 39 |
| 3 | 31 | 73 | 47 | 38 | 43 | 27 |
| 4 | 39 | 46 | 31 | 33 | 44 | 35 |
| 5 | 34 | 44 | 45 | 34 | 41 | 35 |
| 6 | 40 | 40 | 47 | 47 | 43 | 28 |
| 7 | 58 | 76 | 51 | 40 | 39 | 28 |
| 8 | 30 | 67 | 60 | 54 | 47 | 36 |
| 9 | 28 | 98 | 56 | 56 | 52 | 31 |
| 10 | 37 | 67 | 58 | 52 | 53 | 45 |
| 11 | 40 | 69 | 65 | 45 | 48 | 30 |
| 12 | 35 | 108 | 63 | 55 | 41 | 28 |
| 13 | 30 | 80 | 44 | 41 | 46 | 51 |
| 14 | 20 | 64 | 53 | 51 | 47 | 31 |
| 15 | 20 | 56 | 40 | 40 | 38 | 37 |
| 16 | 34 | 51 | 42 | 48 | 49 | 22 |
| 17 | 44 | 61 | 53 | 42 | 44 | 34 |
| 18 | 55 | 58 | 49 | 36 | 44 | 39 |
| 19 | 62 | 51 | 49 | 59 | 42 | 46 |
| 20 | 68 | 61 | 47 | 41 | 42 | 36 |
0-50 Good 51-100 Moderate 101-200 Unhealthy 201-300 Very unhealthy 301- Hazardous
References
- ^ "Indonesia forest fires flare, Malaysia hit by haze". Reuters. 12 June 2009.
