Singapore moves against seven firms over Indonesian blazes as smog spreads

Authorities in Singapore have singled out seven commercial entities linked to Indonesian forest blazes that have blanketed the city-state in hazardous smog, according to local media reports.

The government intends to serve the businesses with formal notices under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, the Business Times reported, citing remarks made by Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu during a press briefing on Friday. Under the statutory notices, the named organizations must halt or avoid any burning activities and submit formal action plans detailing how they will stop similar occurrences in the future.

Fu declined to clarify whether the targeted entities are based in Singapore or Indonesia. Officials stated that a public registry disclosing the names of the organizations will be released at a later time.

The regulatory intervention follows remarks from Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who pledged on Thursday that authorities would thoroughly investigate any firms connected to the fires and cautioned that accountable parties could face legal consequences.

Thick haze has drifted across Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia for several weeks as agricultural fires across Indonesia burn through dry vegetation. Farmers and plantation operators historically use slash-and-burn methods to clear land during the annual dry cycle. However, regional conditions have turned exceptionally severe this year due to an intense El Nino weather pattern, which has prolonged drought conditions and worsened the scale of the fires.

The resulting transboundary smoke has pushed air quality readings to unhealthy ranges across parts of the region, prompting heightened public concern and calls for stricter enforcement against cross-border environmental pollution. Singapore's cross-border haze legislation empowers authorities to penalize companies whose actions overseas lead to severe air pollution within the country.