Haze from Indonesian wildfires spikes Singapore pollution; East Timor shuts schools for three days

Haze from wildfires in Indonesia drove air pollution readings in Singapore sharply higher on Wednesday, 14 October 2026. East Timor shut its schools for three days in response. Daily Sabah and Reuters both reported these developments.

According to Reuters, Singapore's readings were the highest so far this year, and the haze is intensifying. Daily Sabah, citing Singapore's National Environment Agency, reported that pollution in western Singapore reached "very high", the country's top level. It put PM2.5 at 288 micrograms per cubic meter. Daily Sabah compared this with the World Health Organization's recommended annual average exposure of 5 micrograms. The two figures are not directly comparable, because one is a single reading and the other is an annual average. The reports do not give the measurement period for the Singapore reading.

According to Daily Sabah, East Timor's closures are nationwide and run for three days from Thursday. The paper also reported that the haze has reached Singapore, Malaysia, East Timor and the Philippines. The reports do not give pollution readings for those other countries.

Response in Singapore

According to Daily Sabah, Singapore began subsidising haze-related medical treatment on Monday. The measure was last used in 2015. Singapore has also begun distributing N95 masks to eligible residents when pollution reaches very unhealthy levels. The National Trades Union Congress said public transport workers and delivery riders could receive free masks. AFP found that uptake was slow, Daily Sabah reported. "With the mask, I will have to breathe heavier," Daniel, a 27-year-old delivery rider, told AFP, according to Daily Sabah.

Conditions in Indonesia

According to Daily Sabah, the fires have burned hundreds of thousands of hectares on Borneo and Sumatra. Tens of thousands of people have sought treatment for respiratory illness linked to the haze. In Bangka Belitung province, an unnamed official said a fire razed nearly 300 homes. The local disaster agency said nearly 1,000 people fled. Another passage in the same report says "hundreds of people" were evacuated; the report does not explain the difference. "My house is gone," Leni, 55, a villager, told AFP, according to Daily Sabah.

Daily Sabah reported that a strong El Nino has brought drought. Unnamed experts it cited also point to slash-and-burn land clearing. President Prabowo Subianto ordered maximum efforts on Monday. Firefighting, including cloud seeding and water-bombing, has had limited success so far, the paper reported.

What each side says

• East Timor's government, as quoted by Daily Sabah, said it closed schools "as a preventive measure to protect the health of students, teachers and other members of the educational community, given current air quality conditions".
• Indonesian officials said more than 60,000 personnel are fighting the fires on the ground, according to Daily Sabah.
• Malaysia has requested a meeting of ASEAN over the haze, Daily Sabah reported. Malaysian parliamentarian Syed Saddiq Rahman urged a diplomatic protest note to Indonesia. Daily Sabah quoted him as saying: "We must send a diplomatic protest note, not just on behalf of Malaysia, but ASEAN."

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include an Indonesian response to these calls.

Analysis

The haze has become a public health matter and a diplomatic one. Malaysia's request for an ASEAN meeting could test how the regional body handles cross-border pollution. The reports do not say whether a meeting has been scheduled or how Indonesia will respond. Conditions may depend on weather, the El Nino-linked drought and the results of firefighting, which have so far been limited. The low uptake of masks in Singapore suggests that protective measures depend partly on public behaviour. Key figures are still incomplete, including pollution readings outside Singapore and data on hospitalizations. This makes the full health impact difficult to assess for now.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.