Pollution

starting in June 2013. On 19 June 2013 satellites captured images of smoke from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra blowing east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, causing thick clouds of haze in the region. As stated by a local Indonesian official, the source of the haze might be a 3,000 hectare peat land in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province, which was set ablaze by an unknown party on 9 June. As many as 187 hotspots were picked up by satellites on 18 June 2013, down to 85 on 20 June 2013. On 23 June 2013, 119 hotspots were detected. On 24 June 2013, 159 hotspots were detected in Riau, out of a total of 227 detected in Sumatra. An air force officer explained that the low number of hotspots detected on some days was due to heavy cloud cover, which prevented the satellite from detecting some of the hotspots. The Malaysia Department of Environment said that 173 hotspots were detected in Malaysia on 24 June, with 1 in Negeri Sembilan, 1 in Terengganu, 3 in Sabah, and 168 in Sarawak.[6] Many of the hotspots are owned by palm oil companies or smallholder farmers who supply palm oil to these companies and use traditional slash-and-burn methods to clear their land for the next planting season. However, Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has said that the fires were most likely started by errant companies, instead of slash-and-burn by smallholders. On 25 June 2013, Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a formal apology to Malaysia and Singapore for the hazardous smog. On 26 June 2013, 265 hotspots were detected by satellites, but it has since decreased to 54 on 27 June after heavy rain fell overnight between the two days. Newly-promoted English Premier League side Cardiff City has also cancelled a week-long visit to Malaysia, the home of its billionaire owner, Vincent Tan that was scheduled to begin that week, as a result of the severe haze. The haze affecting Malaysia is the worst since 2005, starting with the Air