Forest and peatland fires raging in Indonesia amid unusually dry weather have spread toxic haze across Southeast Asia, closing schools in Malaysia and pushing Singapore to the top of IQAir's live ranking of the world's most polluted major cities, Down To Earth reports. The haze has also reached the Philippines, and protests have broken out across Indonesia demanding that the government declare the fires a national disaster.
The fires are fuelled by land clearing combined with dry conditions since June; fires linked to agricultural expansion can spread into surrounding forests and peat. Peat fires burn through dried, carbon-rich soils, produce large amounts of smoke and can smoulder underground for long periods, making them very hard to put out. A strong El Niño is making conditions drier still and holding back the rain needed to control them.
Independent monitoring platform Nusantara Atlas estimates that nearly 1.9 million hectares had burned by the end of September, a figure the government has not confirmed. Indonesian Health Ministry data cited by Reuters recorded more than 283,000 cases of respiratory illness in seven provinces by 13 October. Five people reportedly died fighting a wildfire in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on Java.
On 16 October Singapore issued preventive notices to seven Indonesian companies linked to land where fires may have contributed to the haze, and added three more on 19 October, bringing the total to ten. Indonesia has agreed to accept help from neighbouring countries, though the arrangements are not yet settled. The report is by DTE staff.
Photo: Oliverlyc / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Source: Down To Earth
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