Southeast Asia's climate and fire monitoring body has triggered its highest emergency warning level across the southern regional bloc as toxic smoke from ongoing fires in Indonesia continues to spread across borders.
The Singapore-based ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Center announced the "Activation of Alert Level 3 for the Southern ASEAN region" in a notification issued on Friday.
The center operates a four-tiered warning framework ranging from zero to three. Level 3 is activated only when there is a "high risk of severe transboundary haze in the region."
According to the center, the criteria for the top-tier alert require significant, sustained hotspot activity accompanied by widespread moderate to dense smoke haze recorded over at least two consecutive days. Dry conditions must also be persisting alongside wind patterns that carry the smoke toward neighboring countries.
The warning issued on Friday marks the third time the center has enacted Alert Level 3 this year, following earlier activations on March 27 and August 26.
The prolonged haze has disrupted daily life across large swathes of Southeast Asia, forcing school closures and driving a sharp rise in respiratory ailments among residents.
Singapore announced on Friday that it would serve warnings to seven firms in Indonesia identified as responsible for the fires, while cautioning that the most severe conditions may still lie ahead.
