Environment & Climate
Indonesia expands aerial and ground firefighting as wildfires spread haze across Southeast Asia
Driven by an intensifying El Niño pattern and prolonged dry weather, forest and peatland fires in Sumatra and Borneo have burned tens of thousands of hectares.
The short version
- Indonesia has deployed over 10,700 ground firefighters, dozens of helicopters, and authorized 35 foreign-registered aircraft to combat spreading wildfires across Sumatra and Borneo.
- Fires driven by dry weather and El Niño have burned tens of thousands of hectares, generating dense smoke that has crossed borders into Malaysia and Brunei.
- The severe haze forced the closure of nearly 600 schools in Malaysia's Sarawak state, affecting roughly 200,000 students.
- Firefighting teams continue to face challenges accessing remote hotspots due to drought, dry vegetation, and strong winds.
Key facts
- Indonesian authorities escalated firefighting operations using cloud-seeding, over 10,700 ground personnel, and dozens of helicopters across provinces in Borneo and Sumatra.[Associated Press]
- Indonesia's Transportation Ministry approved the use of 35 foreign-registered aircraft to perform aerial patrols and water-bombing missions.[Associated Press]
- Forestry Ministry data showed that nearly 94,000 hectares burned during July, with Riau province recording more than 11,500 burned hectares.[Associated Press]
- Satellite tracking from the Environment Ministry identified hundreds of hotspots, led by South Sumatra with 1,429 and West Kalimantan with 1,226.[Associated Press]
- Cross-border haze from the blazes reached Malaysia and Brunei, triggering the shutdown of nearly 600 schools for about 200,000 pupils in Sarawak.[Associated Press]
What remains uncertain
- The full extent of active fires remains difficult to measure as certain ground hotspots remain inaccessible to emergency responders.[Associated Press]