Malaysia said Wednesday it will use Russian "artificial cyclone" technology to try to clear smog caused by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia.
The tropical Southeast Asian country has already sent firefighters to Indonesia to help douse the flames and tried cloud-seeding to induce rain to clear the smog.But the fires are still blazing, although the wind has taken the smoke away from parts of Malaysia and from Singapore in recent days.
Experts said Tuesday the main pollution on Indonesia's Borneo Island was now coming from fire in a huge area of peat covering about 2.5 million acres that the government has been draining for a massive rice-planting project.
The drainage ditches themselves were on fire, sources said.
Smog from Indonesian bush and forest fires has covered large parts of Southeast Asia in recent months, sparking health concerns.