Indonesia's president apologised today for the thick smoke covering parts of neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore — just days after the World Health Organization warned that air pollution must be cut to protect human health.

Politicians in Malaysia and Singapore had been calling on Indonesia to tackle the forest fires that are causing the haze.

Over the past two weeks there were up to 500 fires a day in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, says a report released yesterday (10 October) by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In the provincial capital Pontianak the air pollution index reached 913. An index of 101-200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 300-550 is 'dangerous'.

Read more: http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=3150&language=1

Source: SciDev.Net