--- description: Singapore's government announced on Friday that schools will close due to high levels of pollution from a haze originating in Indonesia title: Worsening Haze Sparks Anger and School Closures in Singapore image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb60b3953cd063d8a/69886567428a9edacbccf513/489750478.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Singapore](/tag/singapore/) ## Singapore Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Worsening Haze Sparks Anger and School Closures in Singapore by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 25, 2015 8:40 AM CUT  The Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, right, stands shrouded in smog in Singapore on Sept. 24, 2015 The Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, right, stands shrouded in smog in Singapore on Sept. 24, 2015Nicky Loh—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 25, 2015 8:40 AM CUT Singapore’s government announced on Friday that primary and secondary schools would close as levels of pollution caused by Indonesian forest fires reached their highest levels this year. Some outdoor events have also been canceled, according to [Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/singapore-shuts-schools-cancel-events-as-air-quality-worsens "undefined"), while officials say [face masks](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-slams-indonesia-over-haze-response-schools-shut-040601893.html "undefined") are being handed out to the infirm and elderly around the affluent island-state in an effort to alleviate associated health risks. The Pollutants Standards Index peaked at 341 in Singapore on Friday. Levels above 300 on the index are considered dangerous, the [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34355825 "undefined") reports. The chocking smog has blanketed Singapore for weeks and is caused by forest fires engulfing parts of [Indonesia](http://time.com/4034382/indonesia-smog-haze-fire-forest-singapore/ "undefined") and neighboring Malaysia. The fires are a regular occurrence in Southeast Asia thanks to slash-and-burn agricultural techniques used to clear land for plantations. These methods have been heavily criticized by environmentalists. On Thursday, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam criticized the Indonesian government’s handling of the fires on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/k.shanmugam.page?fref=ts "undefined"), saying that they’ve shown a “complete disregard for our people, and their own.” Singapore officials say they’ve offered to help Indonesia manage the haze, but the forest fires are expected to continue into November thanks to extreme dryness propelled by the El Niño phenomenon, the [_Straits Times_](http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/haze-set-to-last-till-november-as-el-nino-stretches-dry-spell "undefined") says. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34355825 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4049699/singapore-haze-pollution-school-closings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4049699/singapore-haze-pollution-school-closings/"},"headline":"Worsening Haze Sparks Anger and School Closures in Singapore","datePublished":"2015-09-25T08:40:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:15:51.000Z","description":"The smog has cloaked Singapore for weeks","url":"https://time.com/4049699/singapore-haze-pollution-school-closings/","keywords":["Singapore","indonesia","Sumatra"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb60b3953cd063d8a/69886567428a9edacbccf513/489750478.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb60b3953cd063d8a/69886567428a9edacbccf513/489750478.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Smog at Hazardous as Singapore Spars With Jakarta on Fires","caption":"Smog at Hazardous as Singapore Spars With Jakarta on Fires","creditText":"Nicky Loh—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/singapore/","name":"Singapore"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4049699/singapore-haze-pollution-school-closings/","name":"Worsening Haze Sparks Anger and School Closures in Singapore"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Thick Haze Engulfs Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia","description":"A thick layer of smog from forest fires has settled over Singapore and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xdzj36AS/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-16T06:28:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xdzj36AS.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4049699/singapore-haze-pollution-school-closings/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4049699/singapore-haze-pollution-school-closings/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```