Indonesia fires surge as haze hits Malaysia
Indonesia has seen an alarming surge in land and forest fires over the past month, with thick haze from burning in Kalimantan reaching neighboring Malaysia and prompting authorities there to close more than 100 schools.
Indonesia is experiencing a significant increase in land and forest fires, with the fires releasing thick haze that has crossed the border into neighboring Malaysia. As a result, Malaysian authorities have closed over 100 schools due to the poor air quality. In July alone, approximately 182,000 hectares of land and forest were burned, nearly double the amount burned during the first half of the year.
The total area burned this year has reached 285,000 hectares, equivalent to three times the size of Jakarta. The fires have primarily occurred in West Kalimantan, South Papua, East Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan. Malaysian authorities have linked the pollution to a cross-border haze phenomenon originating from Kalimantan, with Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, ranking as the most polluted major city in the world due to the haze.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
