Hazy days back in KL

Returning to Kuala Lumpur last night, I was taken aback by the severity of the haze, which finally made international headlines yesterday, as per this report on CNN or BBC which also has excellent pictures. Fortunately, our plane from Manila was able to land but there had been some doubt about this, at least from the KL point of view.

When I stepped off the plane, I immediately noted the smell of something burning in the air... it was quite surreal. Outside the airport, many people walk around with surgical masks to shield their nose and mouth from the noxious fumes and to aid breathing. I resorted to holding my handkerchief to my nose.

The photo on the right taken from Troy's Fotopage gives an impression of how bad the haze is. Most of KL's landmark buildings are shrouded in it!
The haze is a yearly occurance thanks to forest fires in Sumatra but this year it has reached a severity not encountered since 1997. It is astounding that our Indonesian 'neighbours' don't do more to put out these fires, which don't seem to affect them as the smoke blows over into Malaysia!

I imagine, this must be rather like the ante-chamber of Hell! The smokiness, the smell, the low visibility and the heat all combine to make life in KL rather unpleasant at the moment. I hope and pray some solution may be reached... and soon!