Haze poses serious health risk, DOH warns
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned that exposure to the toxic haze from Indonesia, which is now affecting parts of the country, may pose serious health risks to the public.
“Haze due to fire can cause air pollution, which can bring about increased risks for respiratory tract infections and cardiac ailments,”
DOH said in an advisory.
DOH warned the public against inhaling the haze, which has now spread to the Visayas and Mindanao and to take necessary precaution against it.
It urged the people in the affected communities to limit outdoors activities and monitor health advisories from the government.
“Stay indoors with good ventilation… refrain from physical activities in heavily polluted areas,” the DOH said.
10 killed The haze has killed at least 10 in Indonesia and caused respiratory illnesses in half a million people, Jakarta authorities said, while winds have carried the smoke into Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, aside from the Philippines.
In some instances this has forced the closure of schools, disrupted air traffic, and restricted people indoors. Thai officials said the haze was the worst they had seen in a decade and called its continuing spread a “crisis.”
The DOH said that in case affected residents need to go out, it urged them to wear the appropriate dusts masks and to stay away from low-lying areas, where smoke and suspended particles may settle.
Drive safely DOH also reminded them to use headlights and travel at a minimum speed if they will drive cars under poor visibility.
“Exercise extreme caution when on the road to prevent accidents,” DOH said.
If they will suffer from difficulty from breathing, cough, chest pain, increased tearing of the eyes, and nose or throat irritation, after inhaling haze, DOH advised them to consult a doctor.
Singapore and Malaysia had earlier issued similar advisories to their nationals due to the haze caused by the raging forest fires in Indonesia, which started a few months ago.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had earlier announced the level of pollutants contained by the haze, has now reached dangerous levels.
In Cebu, however, Cebuanos were greeted with a clear blue sky yesterday that the haze, which the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) prefer to call a smaze – a combination of smoke and haze – has subsided from the alarming level recorded last Saturday.
Engineer Oscar Tabada of PAGASAMactan said the smaze that blanketed Cebu’s skies last Saturday has already thinned out due to the presence of easterly winds.
However, Tabada, urged Cebuanos to stay cautious because the smaze from Indonesia could get back to the Cebu skies in the event of a tropical storm. However, he said PAGASA has not monitored any weather disturbance for the coming few days.
ASEAN leaders’ meet
Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold a summit in Kuala Lumpur on November 19 before expanding to meet their counterparts from key trading partners in the following two days.
The agenda of the summit has not been made public, but diplomatic sources say the haze is likely to be raised by member countries affected by the pollution.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will pursue legal action against “errant companies responsible for the haze” and called on Indonesia to respond to “our repeated requests to share information” on the firms.
For nearly two months, thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn farming in Indonesia have choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia, forcing schools to close and scores of flights and some international events to be cancelled.
Paper and palm oil firms have been blamed for deliberately setting off fires to clear land – including flammable peat-rich terrain – for cultivation, a traditional practice aggravated this year by drier-than-usual conditions due to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
3 warships deployed
Meanwhile, Indonesia has deployed three warships, with more on standby, to deliver face masks, tents and medical supplies to thousands of people affected by acrid haze from forest fires, an official said Monday.
Three warships have arrived in Kalimantan – Indonesia’s half of Borneo and one of the worst affected regions – bringing much needed medical staff, shelters, cooking stoves and protective masks.
Indonesian military spokesman Tatang Sulaiman said the plan was to build temporary shelters with air purifiers and beds away from haze-plagued cities, but the ships could also act as evacuation centers if needed.
“Our warships are ready to evacuate residents, whether to these temporary shelters or even on board. We are prepared for that,” he told AFP.
“Those who will be evacuated first will be children and those suffering from chronic respiratory illnesses.”
Three more ships are stocked and ready to leave for either Kalimantan or South Sumatra, while another five could be pressed into service later if needed, he added. (With a report from Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.)