KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia prepared to seed clouds after air quality in parts of the country reached unhealthy levels due to smog from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia, an official said Monday.

Smog regularly blankets parts of Southeast Asia during the dry season when burning is used to clear Indonesian land for palm oil, paper plantations and other crops, sparking ire from regional neighbours.

In the latest outbreak, parts of Malaysia’s eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island have been blanketed over the past few days.

The pollutant index in some places has reached “very unhealthy levels,” said Gary Theseira, special functions officer with the environment ministry.

“It is extremely severe in Kuching,” Theseira told AFP, referring to a city of half a million people.

He said Malaysia is prepared to carry out cloud seeding to induce rain in an effort to ease the smog.

“The moment the cloud situation is right, the chemicals will be loaded and the aircraft will take off and proceed with the seeding,” he said.

Some countries conduct seeding during prolonged dry spells to induce rain and clear the air by releasing certain chemicals into the clouds, although some experts have questioned its efficacy.