Batam, Singapore Shrounded in Haze Coming from Sumatra's Fire

Batam (Antara) - Thick smog haze has covered Batam and Singapore on Thursday, significantly reducing the visibility and causing eye irritation. The three-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading spiked to 321 in Singapore, Simon D.I. Soekarno of the Indonesian embassy in Singapore told Antara on Thursday. The Singaporean government issued a strong statement regarding the haze problem. In Batam, Indonesia's Riau Islands Province, the Hang Nadim meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG) issued a warning concerning the extreme weather due to the haze. The NOAA-15 satellite detected 234 hot spots in Sumatra, particularly in Riau, Jambi and North Sumatra Provinces. Meanwhile, the local BMKG indicated around 1403 hot spots across Sumatra. Strong winds in Riau and Riau Islands Provinces worsened the haze. The visibility in Riau Islands reduced to less than four km, while in Tanjung Balai Karimun, Batam, and Tarempa, the visibility was below one km. The agency predicted that the haze problem would stay until Friday (June 21). Haze would disappear if heavy rains fall. (*)