On 19 June 2013, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Aeronautics_and_Space_Administration" class="extiw" title="w:National Aeronautics and Space Administration">NASA</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_(satellite)" class="extiw" title="w:Aqua (satellite)">Aqua satellite</a> captured a striking image of smoke billowing from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The smoke blew east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, and news media reported that thick clouds of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Southeast_Asian_haze" class="extiw" title="w:2013 Southeast Asian haze">haze had descended on Singapore</a>, pushing pollution levels to record levels.
<p>Singapore's primary measure of pollution, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollutant_Standards_Index" class="extiw" title="w:Pollutant Standards Index">Pollutant Standards Index</a> (PSI)—a uniform measure of key pollutants similar to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Quality_Index" class="extiw" title="w:Air Quality Index">Air Quality Index</a> (AQI) used by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency" class="extiw" title="w:United States Environmental Protection Agency">United States Environmental Protection Agency</a>—spiked to 371 on the afternoon of 20 June 2013, the highest level ever recorded. The previous record occurred in 1997, when the index hit 226. Health experts consider any level above 300 to be "hazardous" to human health. Levels above 200 are considered "very unhealthy."
</p><p>The image above was captured by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderate_Resolution_Imaging_Spectroradiometer" class="extiw" title="w:Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer">Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer</a> (MODIS), an instrument that observes the entire surface of Earth’s every 1 to 2 days. The image was captured during the afternoon at 6:30 UTC (2:30 p.m. local time).
</p><p>Though local laws prohibit it, farmers in Sumatra often burn forests during the dry season to prepare soil for new crops. The BBC reported that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Singapore" class="extiw" title="w:Prime Minister of Singapore">Singapore's Prime Minister</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Hsien_Loong" class="extiw" title="w:Lee Hsien Loong">Lee Hsien Loong</a> warned that the haze could "easily last for several weeks and quite possibly longer until the dry season ends in Sumatra."
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(Caption by Adam Voiland, edited slightly by <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jacklee" title="User:Jacklee">Jacklee</a> for the Wikimedia Commons: see <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/9095837878/">[1]</a>.)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Earth_Observatory" class="extiw" title="w:NASA Earth Observatory">NASA Earth Observatory</a> image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EOSDIS" class="extiw" title="w:EOSDIS">EOSDIS</a> Rapid Response; from the Flickr account of the <a href="//www.flickr.com/people/24662369@N07" class="extiw" title="flickruser:24662369@N07">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a>.
2013-06-20 06:30
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Flickr" class="mw-redirect" title="Flickr">Flickr</a>: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/24662369@N07/9095837878">Smoke Engulfs Singapore [annotated]</a>.