PEOPLE may have thought they'd seen the last of this season's regular haze from illegal and uncontrolled burning in other parts of Borneo. But yesterday the darkness returned just as Muslims started the first day of Ramadan.

A thick blanket of smoke hung over most parts of the Brunei Muara district and by the afternoon, the pollutant standards index reading from the Department of Environment, Recreation and Parks indicated an almost unhealthy level of 53 on the gauge.

Smoke from the haze contains small particulate matter, which could enter the respiratory system and trigger asthma and related problems.

The duty forecaster at the Brunei Meteorological Service confirmed that the haze had been increasing again over the past few days, but had only become noticeable early yesterday morning.

``The haze worsened at around 3.30 am with visibility reducing dramatically to below nine km,'' said the duty forecaster. Visibility continued to diminish, and the lowest visibility yesterday was six km, which indicates moderate haze conditions, she said.

The smoke originated from south-west Kalimantan, where about 300 hotspots were detected on Saturday, according to the latest figures from Haze Monitoring at the Singapore Meteorological Service, which provides regularly updated information on the region's haze conditions.

Strong prevailing south-westerly winds carried the smoke from the Indonesian state of Kalimantan to Brunei. Areas to the south of Brunei were also affected, including Miri, Sibu, Kuching and Bintulu.The duty forecaster said several light showers are expected over the next few days, bringing temporary relief. However, she added, if the source of the haze the land and forest fires in the southwestern part of Borneo still persist, the region would not be free from the problem.

In a press release by the Asean Secretariat earlier this month, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre forecast that below-average rainfall was expected to continue until early October.

Therefore, there was a high possibility of more land and forest fires occurring and producing smoke that would envelope the region.

Several parts of the region have already experienced episodes of moderate to unhealthy air quality since the start of the dry season in July.

However, the secretariat said the situation had been under control as some Asean countries have taken appropriate action.

Indonesia had started water-bombing and cloud seeding operations to suppress the fires in Riau, Jambi and West Kalimantan.

Aerial operations were meant to complement fire suppression efforts on the ground, including ground-checking of hotspots and increasing public awareness through dissemination of posters and leaflets.

Neighbouring countries have also stepped in to help. Singapore had offered one of its C-130 aircraft to assist Indonesia in its cloud-seeding operations in Sumatra. Malaysia was also considering support for cloud-seeding efforts.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment, Recreation and Parks has issued a statement reminding Bruneians to refrain from lighting fires of any kind.

The public should also report any forest or bush fires to the Fire Services Department at 995 immediately.