Southeast Asia’s haze crisis will persist until polluters pay

A recurrent haze crisis has returned to Southeast Asia, forcing school closures in Malaysia, causing dangerous levels of air pollution in Singapore, and pushing drifting smoke into parts of the Philippines. In Indonesia, forest and peatland fires in Kalimantan and West Kalimantan province are threatening local communities and livelihoods. While dry weather and El Niño conditions intensify the blazes, many are intentionally started to clear land