Hazy with a Chance of Sarcasm

Looking for a foolproof way to enrage the entire country of Singapore? Easy. Just burn down the forests in Indonesia during the Southwest Monsoon season.

No, I didn't recently get a tan. That's just a thick layer of grime covering my entire body.

Ahhh. I love the fresh smell of haze in the morning

One of the best things about living on a tropical island like Singapore is the beautiful, sunny days during the dry months. The worst part? The hazardous haze created by the illegal burning of Indonesia's rainforests, which forces you to stay indoors during what would otherwise be considered gorgeous weather. And trust me, with the smell that comes along with it, you want to stay indoors anyway (imagine living inside an old, rusty grill that just keeps smoldering).

Haze can be educational!
At the beginning of the week, I wouldn't have been able to tell you what a hazardous PSI level was (anything above 300), what type of mask can best protect you from these dangerous pollutants (n95), and I would have thought that "slash and burn" was some sort of rebellious teenage, emo-punk fad. Now I know that it's a cheap method of clearing land often used by developers in Indonesia, which is why this problem continues to plague the countries of Singapore and Malaysia. Though there are laws against this technique for clearing land, Indonesia seems to have a great deal of trouble enforcing such laws, and, in my opinion, a great deal of trouble accepting responsibility for these actions. 

An excuse to act like a child.
Unfortunately, this is a problem that Singaporeans have been dealing with for years, though today, Singapore's PSI reached a record level of 371, which caused a great deal of concern amongst the citizens and political leaders. And worse still is that the smog may potentially continue for weeks, or even months. But don't worry, Indonesia feels horrible about what's happening. They quickly blamed Singaporeans and Malaysians for being just as responsible and the senior Indonesian minister, Agung Laksono, said, "Singapore shouldn't be like children, in such a tizzy." Ahhh. Nothing like some good old-fashioned Indonesian sympathy!

What's more fashionable than a mask?
But on the bright side, Singaporeans prefer the much more appealing word "haze" as opposed to it's ugly cousin, "smog," and I've only read one article that's used the term "hazepocalypse."  Plus, fashion masks are apparently easy to come by (they're probably just as effective as an n95 one, right? Then I'll take the leopard print one). And, if I've learned nothing else since being in Singapore, it's that pale is beautiful.