Summary
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Indonesia is battling massive wildfires, some of which have been burning for weeks
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Millions of people in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo island, have been exposed to toxic haze from the fires
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Thousands of people have been admitted to hospital with respiratory infections
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Cloud-seeding and firefighting aircraft operations have been complicated by the thick haze, which is blanketing parts of the country
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Tens of thousands of officers have been deployed to guard areas and prevent new fires, which are also threatening wildlife
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Haze from the fires in Indonesia has been reported across the region – including in Malaysia and in the Philippines
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BBC team arrives in island shrouded in wildfire hazepublished at 03:05 BST
Quinawaty Pasaribu
Reporting from Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan
I landed in Banjarmasin at 21:00 local time last night from Jakarta. At first, there was no obvious sign of haze along the road from Syamsudin Noor Airport. But about 3km from the airport, a thin layer of smoke haze became faintly visible, hanging over the streets.
According to IQAir, the air quality in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, last night was categorized as “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Locals told me that just a week earlier, dense haze had engulfed the airport area, forcing at least nine flights to be delayed. The smoke was caused by peatland fires located not far from the airport.
Despite the worsening air quality, schools remain open and classes continue as normal. No policies have been introduced to shift students to remote or online learning.The broader picture across Kalimantan shows the scale of the problem.
The highest number of hotspots has been detected in Central Kalimantan, with 8,572 hotspots. West Kalimantan ranks second with 7,617 hotspots, while South Kalimantan is third with 1,450 hotspots.
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Massive wildfires have been burning for weeks in Indonesiapublished at 02:35 BST
Here are scenes from Kalimantan, where some fires have been burning for weeks, blanketing the region and surrounding areas in thick haze.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, getty
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images -
Why do wildfires keep happening in Indonesia?published at 02:35 BST
Liza Tambunan
Jakarta CorrespondentDuring
Indonesia’s dry season from July to October, farmers frequently use fire to
clear land for plantations of palm oil, as well as pulp and paper. It is a cheap way to access land.Due to dry conditions, these fires often spread uncontrollably, including into
protected forests and peatlands, largely across Kalimantan and Sumatra.This method to clear land persists even though opening land by burning is outlawed in
Indonesia.The fires
particularly intensify during El Nino dry spell and this year,
a super El-Nino has
exacerbated the disaster.Indonesia’s government has acknowledged that the fires are largely deliberately
set, either by individuals or corporations. President Prabowo Subianto recently said he would take
strict action against the culprits. -
Haze from wildfires threaten millions in Indonesiapublished at 02:33 BST
Image source, Getty ImagesFor weeks, Indonesia has been battling wildfires that have left large swathes of the country choking in a toxic haze.
Millions of people in Sumatra and Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island, have been exposed to the noxious air, with thousands of people already admitted to hospital with respiratory infections.
And haze from these spots has spread as far as neighbouring nations like Malaysia and the Philippines.
Today, we’ll be bringing you updates from the ground on how the haze has disrupted daily life in some of South East Asia’s largest and most densely populated regions – stay with us.
Original source: https://www.bbc.com/
