The 2010 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis which affected many Southeast Asia countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore during the month of October in 2010. This occurred during the dry season in October when forest fires were being illegally set off by Indonesian smallholders residing in the districts of Dumai and Bengkalis, in the Riau province of Sumatra. These farmers adopt the slash and burn method to clear off land rapidly for future farming opportunities. On 18 October, the hotspot count in Sumatra reached a maximum of 358.