Eco-Business

Air quality in cities and districts across Southeast Asia has reached hazardous levels in recent weeks owing to transboundary haze from wildfires in Indonesia.

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The authority overseeing Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, confirmed on 9 September that fires had broken out within the new capital city administrative area, although the fires were around 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the core government buildings.

The country's energy regulator said data centres now account for 9.28 per cent of total electricity consumption, while prolonged hot weather due to El Niño is driving up cooling demand and forcing Malaysia to reassess its power needs.

The warning has gained urgency as Indonesian haze reaches the Philippines, where such episodes have historically been less frequent than in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

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