epa04931033 Malaysia’s Petronas Towers (R) building and shrouded by haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 15 September 2015. Schools were closed in the Malaysian capital and outlying areas amid worsening haze caused by forest and plantation fires in neighbouring Indonesia, officials said. EPA/AHMAD YUSNI

Am embarassed to confess but recently took a round trip cruise out of Singapore, stopping in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Gloom in Singapore was worse than this photo for KL, especially departing late afternoon, through vast container port and then huge petrochem refinery which supplies Oz. Much worse again, this haze was continuous, all the way to Saigon, not quite so dense, but weather forecasts showed that usual NE trade winds are reversed by El Nino already, so south westerlies delivering smoke from Sumatra. Frightening to be an actual witness to consequences of such massive, organised crime.

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