Speaking in Parliament, Mr Foo emphasized the importance of regional and bilateral cooperation in tackling transboundary haze, adding that Singapore was fully committed to these efforts.

He noted that the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Center (ASMC) provides regular updates to member countries on weather and fog conditions, including hotspot information and early warnings, to support their respective prevention and response measures.

Singapore is also supporting Indonesia’s efforts to run the ASEAN Coordination Center for Transboundary Haze Pollution Prevention, based in Indonesia. Ms Hu said the center would improve regional preparedness and coordination in managing the effects of fog-causing land and forest fires.

In a follow-up question, MP Christopher de Sousa (PAP, Bukit Timah, Netherlands) asked how the government was engaging the people “causing this air pollution” to reward the domestic efforts of Singapore government agencies.

In response, Hu said air quality has improved and over the years “the incidence of cross-border haze has decreased.”

“This is thanks to the efforts made by neighboring countries not only to manage their own regulations and communities domestically, but also to cooperate regionally at the ASEAN level,” she added.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to refer to hotspots in northern Singapore. It should have been “to” north. We apologize for the error.