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23h ago

Underground Peat Fires Ravage Indonesia as Smoke Chokes the Region

A strengthening El Niño has dried drained peatlands, prolonging smouldering fires that resist satellite detection, straining under-resourced firefighters.

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Indonesian firefighters on Borneo island are struggling to keep up with the blazes that have spread haze across the region
Peatland fires, common in the area, generally smoulder and spread under the soil for weeks or months, emitting huge quantities of smoke and only rarely causing surface blazes
Hundreds of schools have been closed indefinitely in West Kalimantan due to air pollution, with about 200,000 pupils learning from home

Overview

  • Trackers and officials reported in early September that the season has burned well over 200,000 hectares across multiple islands, with hotspots continuing to rise.
  • Most of the worst blazes are peat fires that smoulder underground, making them hard to extinguish and causing far higher emissions of fine particles and greenhouse gases than typical forest fires.
  • NOAA and climate experts say a strong El Niño has deepened drought this year, which will likely keep peatlands dry and allow subterranean fires to burn for months until rains return.
  • Local firefighting teams and thousands of volunteers say they are exhausted and short of pumps, hoses, water and protective gear while hospitals and schools report surges in respiratory illness from hazardous PM2.5 levels.
  • Analysts point to slash-and-burn clearing, drained peat from plantation canals and weak corporate enforcement as root causes, and experts call for faster peat re-wetting, open concession maps and tougher legal penalties to prevent repeat seasons.