Thousands of hectares burnt as El Niño intensifies Indonesia's dry season

An intense dry season in Indonesia, expected to be worsened by the ongoing El Niño weather phenomenon, has led to dozens of schools closing temporarily due to dense smoke from forest fires. In West Kalimantan, Pontianak's mayor ordered schools shut as smoke wafted over the city from fires in surrounding areas. Public records indicate the city's public schools educate tens of thousands of children who will continue learning at home while air quality remains poor.

Meanwhile, on Java's Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, firefighters have been battling a blaze that has scorched nearly 900 hectares - an area equivalent to over 1,200 football fields and nearly 2% of the park's total area. Over 48,000 personnel have been deployed across six provinces to combat fires. El Niño, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon, is forecast to cause drier conditions across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, which has seen double the land burned by this time last year.