Singapore targets 7 companies over wildfires in Indonesia as toxic haze worsens

The environmental agency has ordered the firms to stop burning and submit prevention plans as air quality worsens to unhealthy levels

Singapore has identified seven companies it says were involved in wildfires in Indonesia that are choking the city state with haze, and plans to issue notices requiring them to take preventive measures, the Business Times reported.

The companies will receive notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act requiring them to stop or refrain from burning and submit plans to prevent a recurrence, the newspaper reported, citing Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu at a Friday press conference. Fu did not specify whether they were Singaporean or Indonesian companies, and the government will make the list public on a later date.

Singapore and Malaysia have been blanketed for weeks by toxic smog from a severe wildfire season in Indonesia that has been exacerbated by a powerful El Nino weather pattern, bringing dry weather to the region. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong vowed on Thursday to investigate firms responsible for fires and warned those found culpable could face legal action.

Blazes stemming from the use of slash-and-burn techniques to clear farmland have long been a feature of Indonesia’s dry months, and the situation has been exacerbated by a particularly intense dry season this year, with a blockbuster El Nino weather pattern threatening to break records.