| Malaysian officials have ordered schools | | | | conducive efforts to put out the fires |
| closed and advised people to stay indoors or | | | | because in a technical sense it is very |
| wear masks outside while a fog-like yellow | | | | difficult to put out the fires," he said. |
| haze envelopes the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and | | | | |
| surrounding areas. | | | | Indonesia's rainy season is not expected to |
| | | | begin until October, and during the dry |
| Government officials say they will begin | | | | season, fires spread easily. |
| seeding clouds in an attempt to cause rain | | | | |
| and wash away the dust and smoke from the | | | | Mr. Rachmat says there are several reasons |
| air. | | | | for the yearly fires, the majority of them |
| | | | man-made - with farmers, plantation owners, |
| The smoke from hundreds of out-of-control | | | | and miners burning land to clear the forest |
| fires has drifted over to Malaysia from | | | | during the dry season in both Sumatra and |
| Indonesia's nearby Sumatra Island, which lies | | | | Kalimantan Islands. |
| west of the Malaysian mainland. | | | | |
| | | | Malaysian companies also own large tracts of |
| The smoke, a mixture of ash, dust, carbon | | | | palm oil plantations in Sumatra. "First of |
| dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, has caused | | | | all there's spontaneous [fires] in the woods |
| Malaysia's pollution index to rise above the | | | | itself. Secondly, the majority are in the |
| 500 level, which is considered extremely | | | | plantations, and by the local population who |
| hazardous to health, in two west coast towns. | | | | are clearing land, because this is the dry |
| | | | season so some of them get out of hand," said |
| Pollution levels in Kuala Lumpur have reached | | | | Mr. Rachmat. |
| 321, with the tops of buildings disappearing | | | | |
| in the yellow haze. An environment ministry | | | | Mr. Rachmat said Indonesia regrets being the |
| statement said the air quality in the capital | | | | cause of Malaysia's troubles. "I mean this is |
| and several other cities was "unhealthy." | | | | certainly not intentional and we regret that |
| | | | this happens. We have full empathy of the |
| Indonesia's Environment Minister, Rachmat | | | | Malaysian population who are suffering from |
| Witoelar, said Malaysian and Indonesian | | | | the effects of these fires," he said. |
| officials are holding crisis meetings in the | | | | |
| north Sumatran capital of Medan to discuss | | | | Malaysia rushed a team of firefighters to |
| ways to contain the fires, but he says it | | | | Indonesia during a similar crisis in 1997 |
| will not be an easy task. "I'm not saying | | | | when large parts of Malaysia and Southeast |
| that we can combat easily because the dry | | | | Asia were covered in haze from smoke from |
| season is continuing as of now. I mean we | | | | fires in neighboring Indonesia. |
| need a wetter climate for us to effect | | | | |