Story perspectives

Singapore issues haze pollution notices to seven Indonesian firms

By Drooid · Oct 16, 2026, 10:12 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Singapore issued legal notices to seven Indonesian companies under its 2014 Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.
On 15 October, Singapore’s western PM2.5 level hit 288 µg/m³, a “very high” pollution band.
The Singapore government began distributing N95 masks to eligible residents.
Indonesia deployed over 69,000 firefighting personnel, up from about 44,000 in mid-September.

History

Historical Context

In 1997 Indonesian forest fires generated a haze that spread across Malaysia, Singapore and beyond, prompting Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to launch Operation Haze and leading ASEAN to adopt the 2002 Transboundary Haze Agreement. Indonesia ratified the pact in 2014, when Singapore enacted its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, which it now invokes against Indonesian firms. The 1997 episode caused about US $4.5 billion in regional losses.

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Story summary

Singapore issued legal notices to seven Indonesian companies under its 2014 Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.
On 15 October, Singapore’s western PM2.5 level hit 288 µg/m³, a “very high” pollution band.
The Singapore government began distributing N95 masks to eligible residents.
Indonesia deployed over 69,000 firefighting personnel, up from about 44,000 in mid-September.

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