Indonesia has denied they are the source of the haze causing unhealthy air quality in parts of Peninsular Malaysia the past few days.

Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said smoke distribution reports showed there is no smoke crossing over from their country to Malaysia and as such, there is no transboundary haze.

“We continue to keep up-to-date with developments and there is no transboundary haze to Malaysia,” she reportedly said in a press conference in Jakarta today.

The reports show that smoke in Indonesia is mainly concentrated in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

A map produced by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) shows the distribution of moderate-to-dense haze (light or dark orange shade) in the region on Oct 2, 2023. Wind direction is depicted by blue arrows, while hotspots are marked by yellow, orange, or red dots depending on the estimated likelihood of there being an actual fire.

Siti said they have teams working on the ground to mitigate the smoke. Meanwhile, 203 companies have received warnings and 20 were ordered to halt operations, including Malaysian subsidiaries.

The Malaysian Environment Department previously said the unhealthy air quality recorded in parts of Peninsular Malaysia since Friday was due to transboundary haze billowing from Indonesia.

As of noon today, 14 areas in Peninsular Malaysia had unhealthy air quality, according to the Air Pollutant Index (API) monitoring system.

Smoke plumes are seen rising from east of Palembang, Sumatra in this satellite imagery taken on Sept 29, 2023. Infrared signatures suggestive of heat sources (such as an active fire) are highlighted in orange.

Haze situation under control, take care of health - N Sembilan MB

Haze situation under control, take care of health - N Sembilan MB

Unhealthy air quality recorded in 14 areas as of noon

Unhealthy air quality recorded in 14 areas as of noon

Haze: Nine areas on peninsula record 'Unhealthy' API readings

Haze: Nine areas on peninsula record 'Unhealthy' API readings

N Sembilan Health Department urges caution as air quality worsens

N Sembilan Health Department urges caution as air quality worsens