Speaking to Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper reporters, Deputy Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Hoang Phuc Lam said the hazy conditions observed across the Southern and South-central regions over the past two days are not necessarily fog in the conventional sense, and further assessment is needed to determine whether air pollution is a factor.
According to reports from residents, haze appeared on September 14 and 15 in Ca Mau, Can Tho, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, Con Dao Special Zone, eastern Lam Dong Province and Khanh Hoa Province, among other areas.
The phenomenon began in the morning and persisted into the early afternoon. Although the sun remained visible, sunlight was noticeably weaker, the air felt stuffy, and visibility was reduced.
Deputy Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Hoang Phuc Lam, said images and videos circulating on social media suggested that the phenomenon might not be fog.
Some meteorological experts also noted that, unlike the fog commonly seen in northern Vietnam, the haze in the Southern region appeared more like a layer of smoke or murky air covering a wide area.
Speaking to Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper reporters, Quach Chi Khoi, a resident of Ca Mau Province, said the phenomenon appeared in the province on September 14 and was still present by noon on September 15, with its cause yet to be determined.
According to the Ca Mau Hydro-Meteorological Station, the agency is continuing to monitor and assess the phenomenon to determine its cause.
At the same time, the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Center (ASMC) confirmed the presence of transboundary haze in the region. In an update issued at 11 a.m. on September 14, the ASMC said moderate to dense haze was observed over central and southern Sumatra, as well as parts of West and Central Kalimantan in Indonesia. Transboundary haze was also observed in some areas of Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore.
Numerous forest fires were detected in southern Sumatra and in West, Central, and South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The center forecast that dry conditions would persist across many parts of southern ASEAN in the coming days, meaning the risk of transboundary haze would remain.
Earlier, since September 9, Singapore’s meteorological agency had detected smoke from forest fires in southern and central Sumatra and Kalimantan. Observations showed that the smoke was moving toward Singapore under favorable wind conditions.
Vietnamese meteorological agencies have not confirmed that the haze observed in the Southern region is caused by transboundary smoke from Indonesia.
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