Who's to blame for the toxic smog choking South East Asia?

What the report says

BBC World News reports that a severe wildfire-driven haze is affecting Indonesia and spreading across South East Asia, with air quality reaching hazardous levels on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra and pollution drifting into Singapore and Malaysia. The article says Indonesia is facing its worst wildfire season in a decade, with the dry season intensified by a strong El Niño pattern. Independent monitoring cited by BBC World News recorded more than 1 million wildfire hotspots and roughly 900,000 hectares burned.

Anger is growing over the role of companies accused of using fire to clear land, especially in forest and peat areas where slash-and-burn practices are illegal but still difficult to police. Indonesian authorities have suspended the licences of 26 companies and said they are investigating others, while President Prabowo Subianto has called for tougher penalties. The report also says Greenpeace has identified business links in Singapore and Malaysia to land where fires were detected, and the companies named rejected allegations that they allow open burning.

The haze has revived longstanding tensions between Indonesia and its neighbours. Singapore has a law that can be used against firms linked to cross-border pollution, but earlier attempts to pursue cases drew diplomatic pushback from Jakarta. In Indonesia, activists in Pontianak have filed a class action accusing the government and the president of negligence and seeking disaster status for the haze. The report adds that many residents continue to live and work in unhealthy conditions, underscoring the public health and political stakes of the crisis.