ASEAN ministers discuss forest fire haze
Updated
South East Asia's environment ministers say haze from forest fires could increase as changing weather patterns cause a dry spell.
The environment ministers from ASEAN have gathered in Malaysia's administrative capital to discuss the situation.
The ASEAN Meteorological Centre says the cooling effects of the La Nina weather system over the Pacific Ocean are expected to decline by the year's end, resulting in hotter conditions.
Since 1997, peat and forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra and Borneo islands have triggered a choking haze across the region, causing health problems in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
It has cost local economies billions of dollars and badly hit tourism.
