Smog from forest fires chokes Singapore

Visitors wearing masks try to view the Marina Bay Sands Casino and Supertree grove in the background covered with haze in Singapore Thursday, June 20, 2013. Singapore urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically.

This aerial photograph taken on June 17, 2013 shows smoke billowing from fires in areas surrounded by agricultural plantations in the area of Rokan Hilir town in Bengkalis Regency, Riau province, Sumatra -- about 175 west of Singapore.

A fireman attempts to extinguish forest fire on a peatland forest in Rumbai Pesisir, Riau province, Indonesia, Thursday, June 20, 2013. Smog fueled by forest fires in Indonesia has caused Singapore's main measure for air pollution to surge to an all-time high Thursday afternoon, breaching a "hazardous" classification that can aggravate respiratory ailments. Nearby Malaysia closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some areas.

A general view shows part of Singapore shrouded by haze, June 20, 2013. Singapore demanded "definitive" action by Indonesia on forest fires raging in Sumatra as the two neighbors prepared for emergency talks to ease the severe smog enveloping the city-state.

A main road in Singapore's central business district is filled with a smokey haze, June 20, 2013 in Singapore.

The Singapore Flyer is barely visible through thick smoke haze on June 20, 2013 in Singapore. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) rose to the highest level on record reaching 371 at 1 p.m. Thursday. The haze is created by deliberate slash-and-burn forest fires started by companies in neighboring Sumatra.

An Indonesian Cabinet minister criticized Singapore's public statements, saying they should have been conveyed through diplomatic channels.

"Singapore should not act like children, making all that noise," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said.

A couple takes pre-wedding photographs before a smog-filled skyline, at the Marina Bay Waterfront on June 20, 2013 in Singapore.

Buildings in the downtown financial district are seen through a thick, smokey haze on June 19, 2013 in Singapore. The smog is created by deliberate slash-and-burn forest fires started by companies in neighboring Sumatra.

A masked man walks as the sun sets among buildings covered with haze at the Singapore Central Business District Thursday, June 20, 2013.

Apartment blocks are seen covered in smoke haze on June 19, 2013 in Singapore. The haze is created by deliberate slash-and-burn forest fires started by companies in neighboring Sumatra.

Motorists travel along the haze-shrouded Central Expressway, in Singapore, June 19, 2013. Singapore's smog crisis from forest fires in Indonesia reached "hazardous" levels as the air pollutant index hit the highest level on record.

The sun rises over the Singapore Central Business District skyline as smog envelopes the city on Thursday, June 20, 2013. A smoky haze triggered by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia has caused air pollution to hit its worst level in nearly 16 years in Singapore.

Two women cover their faces as they walk through Raffles Place in the central business district, June 20, 2013 in Singapore. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) rose to the highest level on record.

People sit along the bay as the Garden by the Bay's domes are shrouded by haze, in Singapore, June 20, 2013. Indonesia accused Singapore of acting "like a child" over choking smog from forest fires in Sumatra which have triggered the city-state's worst environmental crisis in more than a decade, as the two nations held talks.

A general view of haze covering the Singapore Flyer on June 20, 2013 in Singapore.

Commuters wear face masks in the subway on June 20, 2013 in Singapore, owing to smog which has reached the most critical levels on record.