A HEAVY morning downpour yesterday brought relief to Brunei after a return of the haze that continues to threaten a surge in health problems.

The duty forecaster at the Brunei Meteorological Service said the downpour had slightly improved the hazy conditions, with visibility improving from eight to nine kilometres yesterday afternoon, but she said that Brunei's battle with haze from Kalimantan was far from over.

"At the moment, Brunei is experiencing a tropical depression to the east of the Indochinese coast, and south-westerly winds will continue to blow in the direction of Brunei, with a chance of more occasional squally showers in the next few days,'' she said.

She added that the haze was likely to return and persist until October easterly winds replaced the south-westerly winds. The Department of Environment, Recreation and Parks registered a pollutant standards index of 13 yesterday morning, compared with 53 in the Brunei-Muara district on Sunday afternoon.