‘It is tough’: Indonesia braces for worse wildfires as dry season takes hold

Jakarta, Aug 20 — Thick smog is engulfing parts of Indonesia's Borneo, renowned for its lush rainforests and expansive plantations, but experts warn the worst is yet to come. July alone saw nearly 95,000 hectares of land burned across the country, according to government figures. The fires have been fueled by dry conditions brought on by a strong El Nino weather pattern, leading to smoke blanketing areas like Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan on Borneo.

Forestry ministry official Yudho Shekti Mustiko lamented the intensity of the situation, stating that all 767 of his colleagues across Borneo are already fighting fires, with no officials left on standby. Since the start of the year, fires have consumed over 200,000 hectares, an area roughly three times the size of Jakarta.

Fire season has only just begun, with September and October expected to be exceptionally dry. "We have to maintain our stamina," warned Yudho. The area burned this year is already larger than during previous El Nino seasons in 2019 and 2023, but has not yet reached the scale of the devastating 2015 fires, which burned through millions of hectares and triggered a regional haze crisis.

This year's fires have already spread smoke into Malaysian Borneo, with six areas in Sarawak state registering "unhealthy" air quality, prompting residents to stay indoors and wear masks. Motorists faced reduced visibility due to the brown haze.

Volunteer firefighters deployed, battling flames with branches in some cases, as they struggled to breathe amidst the smog. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni revealed that experts are ready for cloud seeding operations to combat the fires, but these weather modification efforts depend on suitable clouds. El Nino, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon, brings global changes in winds, air pressure, and rainfall, typically resulting in drought in Indonesia.

The scale of the current fires is also the result of four decades of deforestation, turning vast landscapes into fire-prone tinderboxes. "Only rain will stop the fires, but that is unlikely before November," said David Gaveau, founder of deforestation monitoring site Nusantara Atlas.