Southeast Asia’s ‘red alert’ haze fight faces economic test

A potentially dangerous haze season looms for Southeast Asia, as rising energy and fertiliser costs threaten to weaken fire-prevention efforts just as extreme weather patterns raise the risk of forest and land blazes. Analysts warn that agricultural companies facing pressure from higher production costs may cut corners on sustainable land-clearing practices, including by using fire instead of machinery.

The warning comes as the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) issued a rare...