Catching smoke in Singapore

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on The Economist or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Indonesia is considering assistance from Malaysia and Singapore to contain widespread wildfires that have blanketed parts of Southeast Asia in hazardous smoke
• Singapore has introduced emergency subsidies for smoke-related healthcare after the haze pushed the city to the world’s highest pollution levels, while schools have closed across southern Malaysia

🔭 The context: The crisis highlights the recurring challenge of controlling fires in Indonesia and limiting their cross-border effects
• Smoke from large-scale fires can travel hundreds of kilometres, disrupting education, daily life and public health across national boundaries
• The region experienced a major haze crisis in 2015, which caused extensive economic losses and was associated with a substantial increase in premature deaths

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Wildfires can release large quantities of greenhouse gases and harmful particulate pollution, while fires affecting forests and peatlands damage biodiversity and carbon-storing ecosystems
• Preventing recurring fires is therefore critical for both public health and climate mitigation

⏭️ What’s next: Indonesia’s response to offers of regional assistance will be important in determining whether firefighting efforts can be strengthened
• Longer-term progress will also depend on effective fire prevention, forest and peatland management, and cross-border cooperation to reduce future haze emergencies

📈 One stat: Up to $16 billion — the estimated economic cost to Indonesia of the 2015 haze crisis, according to the article

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