Singapore chokes on haze as Sumatran forest fires rage

By Peter Shadbolt, CNN

Updated 1732 GMT (0132 HKT) June 21, 2013

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Students wear masks as haze shrouds Kuala Lumpur on June 23. Many schools in Malaysia were closed on Monday after air pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia spiked to hazardous levels.

Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Malaysia chokes on smoke – Students wear masks as haze shrouds Kuala Lumpur on June 23. Many schools in Malaysia were closed on Monday after air pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia spiked to hazardous levels.

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Motorists drive as haze shrouds Malaysia's landmark Petronas Twins Towers in Kuala Lumpur on June 23. The Malaysian government declared a state of emergency on June 23 in two southern areas.

Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Malaysia chokes on smoke – Motorists drive as haze shrouds Malaysia's landmark Petronas Twins Towers in Kuala Lumpur on June 23. The Malaysian government declared a state of emergency on June 23 in two southern areas.

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Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Malaysia chokes on smoke – A woman helps her friend with a face mask as haze shrouds Kuala Lumpur on June 23.

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Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Singapore chokes on smoke – Elderly people sign up to collect face masks at the community centre for the low income in Singapore on June 22, 2013.

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Apartment buildings were shrouded in a haze of smoke on Wednesday, June 19, in Singapore. The city-state's worst pollution crisis in more than a decade, the haze stems from illegal slash-and-burn forest fires in neighbouring Sumatra, Indonesia.

Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Singapore chokes on smoke – Apartment buildings were shrouded in a haze of smoke on Wednesday, June 19, in Singapore. The city-state's worst pollution crisis in more than a decade, the haze stems from illegal slash-and-burn forest fires in neighbouring Sumatra, Indonesia.

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An aerial photograph taken on June 17 showed smoke billowing from fires in areas surrounded by agricultural plantations in Rokan Hilir town in Sumatra, about 280 kilometers (173 miles) west of Singapore.

Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Singapore chokes on smoke – An aerial photograph taken on June 17 showed smoke billowing from fires in areas surrounded by agricultural plantations in Rokan Hilir town in Sumatra, about 280 kilometers (173 miles) west of Singapore.

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The Singapore Flyer ferris wheel was barely visible through the smoke haze on June 20. That day, the country's Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) rose to the highest level on record, reaching 371.

Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Singapore chokes on smoke – The Singapore Flyer ferris wheel was barely visible through the smoke haze on June 20. That day, the country's Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) rose to the highest level on record, reaching 371.

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Undeterred by the smog, a couple took engagement photographs in front of the city's skyline at the Marina Bay waterfront on June 20.

Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Singapore chokes on smoke – Undeterred by the smog, a couple took engagement photographs in front of the city's skyline at the Marina Bay waterfront on June 20.

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Photos: Singapore and Malaysia choked by smoke

Singapore chokes on smoke – A man cut a striking figure against Singapore's hazy skyline on June 20.

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