Singapore renews offer to help Indonesia fight forest fires

THE Singapore government has renewed its offer to help Indonesia fight possible land and forest fires ahead of the traditional dry season from June to October.

Like last year, Singapore has offered to provide a C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations, another two C-130 aircraft to ferry a team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), high resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates as as well as a Chinook helipcopter with one SCDF water bucket for aerial fire-fighting.

The city state has extended assistance packages to its neighbour since 2005, as the region's susceptibility to land and forest fires during this period increases the probability of transboundary haze.

The El Nino phenomenon this year could result in drier weather which would exacerbate the situation, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said in a press release.