In 1997, forest fires in Indonesia spread thick smoke to Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sent Malaysian firefighters to Indonesia to help,[1] calling it Operation Haze. This aimed to reduce the impact on Malaysia's economy, which lost an estimated 0.30% of its GDP due to the haze.[2]
Seasonal rains in December briefly stopped the fires, but they returned soon after. By early 1998, countries like Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka[3] were also affected by the smoke. By the end, 8 million hectares of land had burned, and millions of people suffered from air pollution.
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