Singapore - Forest fires have been spotted on Indonesia's Sumatra island, raising the prospect of a repeat of last year's smog disaster in southeast Asia, a Singaporean weather expert said yesterday.
Mr Lim Tian Kuay said the dry weather of the past month had made the area ripe for extensive fires if nothing was done. "[The area] is drier compared to past years because of El Nino. The risk is greater for fires to start and for them to spread," he said.