Ho Chi Minh City and several localities in southern Vietnam on Wednesday entered the third day being blanketed with fog in what is said to be related to the forest fires in Indonesia.
Dwellers in the southern Vietnamese metropolis told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the same day that the haze has been visible from dawn till dusk since Monday.
Many provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta such as Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Ben Tre and Can Tho have also undergone similar foggy weather since early this week, according to Dang Van Dung, deputy director of the southern unit of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Le Thi Xuan Lan, a weather pundit based in Ho Chi Minh City, said the phenomenon is likely to be dry haze, when there are fine dust particles in the air, which reduce horizontal visibility and give the atmosphere a characteristic hazy appearance.
The phenomenon is partly affected by the haze crisis caused by the forest fires in Indonesia, Lan told Tuoi Tre on Tuesday. Indonesia has come under growing pressure from its neighbors in recent weeks as thick smoke from fires on Sumatra and the Indonesian part of Borneo has sent pollution levels soaring in many regional nations, according to AFP.
Malaysia and Singapore have closed schools and canceled major outdoor events due to the choking haze.
These types of blazes flare up annually during the dry season as fires are illegally started to clear land for cultivation.
Adding to the problem, an El Nino weather system has made conditions drier, with this year's haze on track to be the worst on record, AFP said in a report on Tuesday.
Below are the latest photos showing hazy Ho Chi Minh City and other foggy localities on Wednesday taken by Tuoi Tre reporters.
View from Bach Dang Wharf in District 1
On the Saigon River
The skyline in District 2 is enveloped in fog.
On Hoang Van Thu Street
At the Lang Cha Ca flyover
On Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street
The foggy Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Cannal
In the Mekong Delta:
The under-construction Cao Lanh Bridge in Dong Thap Province
On a road in Dong Thap
On the Tien River in Dong Thap
The Tien River in Tien Giang Province
In Ben Tre Province
Photos taken on Tuesday can be found here.
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