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The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was a haze crisis that affected several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://sg.news.yahoo.com/haze-reaches--unhealthy--level-in-singapore-085448213.html )〕 and Southern Thailand, mainly during June and July 2013. The haze period was caused by large-scale burning in many parts of Sumatra and Borneo. Satellite imagery from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites showed that the haze was mainly due to smoke from fires burning in Riau province, Indonesia. The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was notable for causing record high levels of pollution in Singapore and several parts of Malaysia. The 3-hour Pollution Standards Index in Singapore reached a record high of 401 on 21 June 2013, surpassing the previous record of 226 set during the 1997 South East Asian Haze.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22998592 )〕 On 23 June, the Air Pollution Index (API) in Muar, Johor spiked to 746 at 7 a.m. which was almost 2.5 times above the minimum range of the ''Hazardous'' level thus resulting in the declaration of emergency in Muar and Ledang (which was afterwards lifted on 25 June in the morning), leaving the towns in virtual shutdown.〔("Haze: State of emergency lifted in Muar and Ledang, schools reopen" ), ''The Star'', Malaysia. 25 June 2013.〕 ==Chronology of events== On 19 June 2013, NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites captured images of smoke from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra blowing east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, causing thick clouds of haze in the region.〔 As stated by a local Indonesian official, the source of the haze might be a 3,000 hectare peatland in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province, which was set ablaze by an unknown party on 9 June. As many as 187 hotspots were picked up by satellites on 18 June, down to 85 on 20 June. On 21 June 2013, a total of 437 hotspots were detected in Sumatra. Two days later, the number was down to 119. On 24 June 159 hotspots were detected in Riau, out of a total of 227 detected in Sumatra. An air force officer explained that the low number of hotspots detected on some days was due to heavy cloud cover, which prevented the satellite from detecting some of the hotspots.〔 The Malaysia Department of Environment said that 173 hotspots were detected in Malaysia on 24 June, with 1 in Negeri Sembilan, 1 in Terengganu, 3 in Sabah, and 168 in Sarawak. Many of the hotspots were owned by palm oil companies or smallholder farmers who supply palm oil to these companies and use traditional slash-and-burn methods to clear their land for the next planting season. However, Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said that the fires were most likely started by errant companies, instead of slash-and-burn by smallholders. On 25 June, Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a formal apology to Malaysia and Singapore for the hazardous smog. On 26 June 2013, 265 hotspots were detected by satellites, but decreased to 54 on 27 June after heavy rain fell overnight between the two days. Newly promoted Premier League team Cardiff City also cancelled a week-long visit to Malaysia, the home of its billionaire owner, Vincent Tan, that was scheduled to begin that week, as a result of the severe haze.〔 The number of hotspots in Sumatra continued to decrease on 27 June, with 42 hotspots recorded at 4pm. At the same time on 28 June, only 15 hotspots were detected by satellites. Singapore's National Environment Agency said that this could be the reason for the improving haze conditions in Singapore and Malaysia over the past week. The number of hotspots decreased further to just 7 on 29 June.〔 The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) renewed calls for the enaction and enforcement of zero-burn policies. Based on satellite detection of hotspots, the province of Riau in Sumatra was found to contain over 88% of the hotspots that caused the worst haze over Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia since 1997. From 1 to 24 June, NASA satellites have detected a total of more than 9,000 hotspots in Sumatra, and more than 8,000 of them were located in Riau. By 29 June, a total of 2,800 military personnel, as well as helicopters and aircraft, were being deployed to fight the fires. About 3,000 civilians were also helping with the firefighting. The fires reduced from an area of 16,500ha to 4,081ha. On 1 July 4 hotspots were detected in Riau, the lowest number so far since the burning started. On 19 July 43 hotspots were detected in Sumatra. The next day, the number of hotspots rose sharply as Sumatra was experiencing dry weather. There were 159 hotspots in Sumatra, with 63 of them located in Riau. On 21 July, the number of hotspots in Sumatra spiked to reach 261 as a result of the continuing dry weather. 173 hotspots were detected in Riau. The remaining hotspots were mainly located in the north of the island, in Aceh and North Sumatra. In Malaysia, a total of 19 hotspots were detected. There were 7 hotspots in Johor, 4 each in Kelantan and Pahang, 2 in Perak, and 1 each in Selangor and Sabah. The hotspots decreased slightly a day later. 167 hotspots were detected in Riau, out of a total of 252 in Sumatra. However, the number of hotspots in Riau climbed to 183 on 23 July, the highest number of hotspots detected in Riau since the haze returned. On 24 July, satellites detected 185 hotspots in Riau. Indonesian authorities said that the number of hotspots is expected to rise in August, when slashing-and-burning activity is very likely to peak, thus causing the haze to possibly thicken and increase.〔 On 25 July, the number of hotspots in Riau decreased to 56, after 4 helicopters and 100 military personnel helped to fight the fires. There was a sharp increase in the hotspots in Indonesia on 26 August 2013, with 488 hotspots detected. There were 308 hotspots the day after, on 27 August 2013. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2013 Southeast Asian haze」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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