Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Choking haze in central and west Kalimantan reached its worst levels this season, with visibility down to only a few metres yesterday.

A scientist from an international forestry research centre said the pollution levels, that are now being described as "extremely dangerous", were predictable, given the dry El Nino season.

Haze in Palangkaraya, the capital of central Kalimantan, reduced visibility to around 50 m early on Thursday and yesterday morning, forcing cars to use their headlights to avoid collision, said officials from the meteorology board.

Air pollution levels were dangerously high – with a pollution index reading of 600, or three times the highest recommended levels. "It is extremely, extremely dangerous," said Mr Hidayat of the meteorology office in Palangkaraya.

The reading is, however, still well below levels reached in 1997, when the index topped 1,000, he said. But Singapore is unlikely to be affected by the haze, said Indonesia's Meteorology Board.

"It's very unlikely the haze will move to Singapore, the winds at the moment look as if they will carry the haze to the north closer to the Philippines," said Mr Edison Gurning from the Central Meteorology Board in Jakarta, commenting on the weather forecast for the next fortnight.

For Kalimantan, there is unlikely to be any let-up soon as the dry season is expected to continue until the end of October, predicted Mr Luca Tacconi, a scientist from the Centre from International Forestry Research, just outside Jakarta.

He said Indonesia could have easily foreseen that thick haze would result if the annual land-clearing fires were allowed to continue during the El Nino season.

"During El Nino you shouldn't burn peat land, because if you have fires on peat land and they ignite underneath the burning continues until there's rain," said Mr Luca, adding Indonesia knew that an El Nino season was due this year.

In an ordinary wet season, peat fires would not spread underground, he added. Much of central and west Kalimantan is peat soil, which, when burnt, creates much more haze than ordinary soil.

Athough the authorities blame small farmers and communities, the culprits are industrial plantations, he said. "The satellite data and our research shows that 75 per cent of hotspots in Kalimantan and 90 per cent of hotspots in central Kalimantan are in either plantation areas or forest concessions," he said.