Forest fires that blanketed Southeast Asia in thick haze last year released the greatest amount of climate-changing carbon since the record blazes in 1997, producing emissions higher than in the whole of the European Union, scientists said on Tuesday.
Singapore, Malaysia and northern Indonesia choked under a layer of toxic smog in September and October, caused by thousands of fires started in Indonesia to clear land for palm oil trees and for pulp and paper plantations.
The fires and resulting haze pushed up pollution levels, caused schools to close, flights to be disrupted and people to fall sick across the region.