Indonesia races to contain fires as haze spreads across region

Indonesia is battling a surge in forest and land fires across six priority provinces, as haze now spreads throughout the region. The forestry ministry reported that 107,465 hectares (265,552 acres) of land suffered from fires from January to June, a staggering 110% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Chief Security Minister Djamari Chaniago warned that the current weather conditions are favorable for the fires to escalate further, and there may already be signs that the intense El Nino season has arrived.

The government has identified Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra on Sumatra Island, along with West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan on Borneo Island, as the six priority provinces. The fires are primarily caused by deforestation for palm oil plantations, mines, and other land-clearing activities, leaving the land dry and prone to combustion.

Dana Prima Tarigan of the Indonesian environmental group WALHI explained that El Nino is exacerbating the situation by reducing rainfall, prolonging the dry season, and diminishing water supply to the ecosystem.

In response to the crisis, authorities have deployed 43 helicopters and 15 fixed-wing aircraft to combat the fires. Cloud-seeding operations using salt flares to stimulate rainfall have been conducted, but Djamari acknowledged the challenges due to the scarcity of rain clouds. Meanwhile, all students in Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan, have been moved to online classes due to a decline in air quality caused by the haze.

The haze has also impacted Malaysia's Sarawak state, with 11 areas recording unhealthy air quality levels. The state's education department has instructed schools to suspend outdoor activities when temperatures rise or air quality index readings exceed 100. In Java Island, a fire in Mount Bromo National Park, which damaged 899 hectares of land, has been mostly extinguished, according to Gatot Soebroto, head of the local disaster mitigation agency.