Is it so hazy!

Those of you who live in the southern part of Texas probably remember the summers that Mexico was burning it's fields to clear the land for use again. I remember it being slightly hazy outside for a few days every here or there. Well they have something similar going on over here. Indonesia is having it's annual burn-off to clear land for agriculture. The haze caused by smoke has been a problem for about 2 weeks now. They measure the air quality with a PSI ('Pollutant Standards" index, not Particles per Square Inch which is what I thought it was. This chart shows you the ranges:

PSI Value PSI Descriptor
0 to 50 Good
51 - 100 Moderate
101 - 200 Unhealthy
201 - 300 Very unhealthy
Above 300 Hazardous

Friday, two weeks ago when I left the office I thought there was a fire right down the road. I even called my dad to see if he had heard anything about a fire out here at the shipyards. It was just the smoke coming in from Indonesia. It actually smelled like smoke outside. That Sunday the PSI spiked to 150 then eased back down to 136 at midnight. They said that in 1997 it rose to 226. It's bad enough now, I'd hate to see it get up to that level. The haze is bad enough that it affects people with allergies and asthma related problems. You'll see people walking around outside with a face mask or bandana tied around their head. You can actually see it. It makes it appear like it is foggy outside. Take at look at the pictures below. (Pictures coming later today)