Indonesia races to contain fires as haze spreads
Authorities have deployed 43 helicopters and 15 aircraft as 107,465 hectares burned from January to June, the Forestry Ministry said.
- Indonesia has intensified emergency operations across six priority provinces—including Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra on Sumatra, and West, Central, and South Kalimantan on Borneo—as wildfires spread rapidly during a severe dry season.
- More than 107,000 hectares burned between January and June, marking over a 110% increase compared to the same period during the last major El Niño cycle.
- Government response teams deployed 43 helicopters and 15 aircraft to conduct water-bombing runs and cloud-seeding operations in an effort to trigger rainfall and slow the regional spread of smoke.
- Schools closed and moved to online learning in severely affected regions, including Pontianak in West Kalimantan, as thick toxic haze degraded local air quality and raised health alarms.
- An intensifying El Niño phenomenon and widespread land clearing for agriculture, palm oil plantations, and mining have dried out highly flammable peatlands, compounding risks as peak fire months approach.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Observador
Noticias ao MinutoThe country of Southeast Asia is experiencing the beginning of a long and intense dry season aggravated by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
Prabowo orders coordinated measures against Indonesia wildfires
Indonesia's government has mobilised a multi-agency task force to contain fires that have burned about 107,000 hectares nationwide in a bid to prevent transboundary haze, said Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago.
Schools closed as Indonesia battles wildfires
In West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo that Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei, the mayor of Pontianak ordered schools closed due to the smoke wafting over the city from fires elsewhere. Public records show Pontianak has tens of thousands of public school pupils. Children will learn from home for as long as air quality remains poor, mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono said in a statement Monday, without stating how many schools were affected. "We…
Indonesia races to contain fires as haze spreads
Indonesia has stepped up efforts to contain forest and land fires across six priority provinces, deploying cloud-seeding aircraft to induce rain as authorities seek to slow the haze now spreading across the region, officials said.
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