This study assessed the economic value of health impacts of transboundary smoke haze pollution in
Kuala Lumpur and adjacent areas in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Daily inpatient data from 2005, 2006,
2008, and 2009 for 14 haze-related illnesses were collected from four hospitals. On average, there were
19 hazy days each year during which the air pollution levels were within the Lower Moderate to Hazardous
categories. No seasonal variation in inpatient cases was observed. A smoke haze occurrence was
associated with an increase in inpatient cases by 2.4 per 10,000 populations each year, representing an
increase of 31 percent from normal days. The average annual economic loss due to the inpatient health
impact of haze was valued at MYR273,000 ($91,000 USD).