Dozens of orangutans saved from wildfires

Dozens of critically endangered orangutans have been rescued in the past few weeks from rampant wildfires burning across Indonesia that have cloaked the region in toxic haze, conservation groups said.

The fires have triggered a months-long pollution spell that has closed schools, fueled a surge in respiratory conditions among humans and animals, and restricted outdoor activities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.

Pollution levels again ranged from unhealthy to very unhealthy across the region on Sunday, cloaking many areas across southern Southeast Asia in toxic haze.

A rescuer and Karmele Llano Sanchez, 48, CEO of wildlife foundation YIARI, carry an adult female orangutan during a rescue at a palm-oil plantation affected by wildfires in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan Province on Sept. 30.

Photo: Reuters

Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir yesterday again ranked Singapore and Kuala Lumpur among the world’s top ten most polluted major cities.

Fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands, intensified by a turbo-charged El Nino weather phenomenon, continued to emit smoke.

In Indonesia, groups were working to save wildlife from the fires, including orangutans.

Members of the Indonesian Natural Resources Conservation Agency, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature Indonesia evacuate a 20-year-old orangutan due to wildfires in Hampangen, Indonesia, on Saturday.

Photo: AFP

The West Kalimantan Conservation Agency and Indonesian nonprofit YIARI on Saturday said a team had evacuated 51 orangutans from West Kalimantan since Aug. 6.

Indonesia Ministry of Forestry figures released last week said that as many as 96 orangutans could have been rescued over the past few months in Kalimantan.

On Saturday, three conservation agencies saved a 20-year-old male orangutan in Hampangen in Central Kalimantan on Borneo.

“The evacuation process was carried out with great caution,” the agencies said.

“After the orangutan was sedated, the medical team immediately conducted a health examination before taking the animal to the ... rehabilitation center,” they said.

The Indonesia Ministry of Transportation said that about 2,400 flights across the country have been affected by the haze since the middle of August.

“Haze reduces visibility around airports, which can lead to delays, disruptions, and even flight cancellations,” the ministry said.

In Singapore, concentrations of PM2.5, particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller, remained elevated in western parts yesterday, with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) staying in the “very unhealthy” range.

Although PM2.5 is the dominant pollutant during haze episodes and one of six indicators used to calculate Singapore’s overall PSI, it is not the same as the index itself.

Singapore-based atmospheric sciences expert Wang Jingyu (王靖宇) said the region was firmly in the grip of a super El Nino weather phenomenon.

Because “of the super El Nino across the entire Southeast Asia, the sea surface temperature is cooler than normal,” Wang said.

“Under these conditions, cooler sea surface temperature means we do not have enough evaporation from the ocean,” meaning insufficient rain, he said. “We do not have enough rain, the fire cannot be easily put out.”