SINGAPORE, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei have agreed to ban open-air burning activities to combat the recurrent haze in the region.

    The countries' Environment Ministers agreed on the above at a ministerial meeting on transboundary haze pollution, which is to look at the region's haze situation, local radio 938Live reported Wednesday.

    Permits for burning activities at fire-prone hotspots will also be suspended.

    Indonesia revealed that it is introducing a law next week imposing penalties for open-air burning.

    Though the haze situation has improved in recent years as a result of joint efforts, the ministers noted that it would be impractical to aim for a "zero-haze situation."

    The meeting also discussed enhanced measures to tackle land and forest fires in the southern ASEAN region. The ministers also cautioned that with a stronger El Nino effect predicted this year, haze pollution could worsen in the next few months.