Haze in Sumatra. Photo by @jgblogs

Nearly 500 forest fires were recorded in Sumatra Island last August which caused a thick haze to descend on Riau in Indonesia and even in some parts of Malaysia. The burning of forests is blamed on the operations of oil palm plantations, wood suppliers’ concessions, and pulpwood plantations. Several schools were closed in Riau during the return of the deadly haze last week.

The haze pollution is a recurring problem in the region caused mainly by forest fires in Indonesia. Last June, the haze covered Singapore and many areas in Malaysia.

Forest fire hotspots in Riau, Indonesia. Yellow areas are palm oil plantations. Image from Eyes on the Forest.

On Twitter, Indonesians expressed their concern about the return of the haze in Sumatra.

If Indonesia Prez dtg, pls tell Msian palm oil owners in Sumatra to burn more fires so tht SBY can see with his own eyes what Haze is.

— Dr Wan Norashikin (@drshikin) August 31, 2013

SBY refers to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

#haze #Sumatra land burning bad for 2 days in #Medan, left a layer of black dust on my motorcycle in 8 hours #health #environment #Indonesia

— SumatraEEC (@SumatraEEC) August 27, 2013

In Penang, Malaysia, the haze affected many residents. Fortunately, the haze was already gone last weekend.

Haze is stopping me from jogging ):

— June (@SScarsorrow) August 29, 2013

Finally, no more haze. Yeay. I can finally see the sunrise. Alhamdulillah. Morning suria

— Ameera Nadia Shafiee (@ameeranadia90) August 30, 2013