18th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution

4 May 2016

Source:  ASEAN Secretariat News

18th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution

1. Ministers responsible for the environment from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand met on the occasion of the Eighteenth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution on 4 May 2016 in Singapore.

2. The Ministers noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre’s (ASMC’s) forecast that dry weather conditions are expected for Sumatra and Kalimantan between June and early October 2016. With the El Niño expected to return to Neutral conditions by mid-2016 and with a chance of La Niña developing in the third quarter of 2016, normal to above normal rainfall can be expected for the region during the season. Nevertheless, the MSC countries pledged to remain vigilant and continuously monitor and step up their haze preventive efforts to minimise any possible occurrence of transboundary smoke haze from land and forest fires in anticipation of the drier weather in the coming months. The Ministers emphasised that sustained and long-term efforts to prevent land and forest fires were also critical to address the overarching challenge of climate change.

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