Indonesia Battles Peatland Fires: A Challenging Fight
Firefighters in Indonesia faced a tough battle against multiple peatland fires across Sumatra island on Wednesday, as confirmed by officials. These fires ignited on Tuesday afternoon near residential areas and along a highway, affecting three villages. The firefighting efforts encountered difficulties due to distant water sources and several empty reservoirs.
Indonesia grapples with annual forest and peat fires, causing strain in relations with neighboring countries. The thick smoke from these fires spreads over Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and southern Thailand, enveloping these regions in a noxious haze.
Suharyanto, the head of the National Disaster Management Agency, reassured that the current fires in South Sumatra province wouldn’t impact neighboring nations. He stated, “I’m sure that, in general, everything is under control. Even though there is smoke now, I’m sure it’s not as extensive as previous years. There has been some burned land, but a significant portion has been successfully extinguished.”
Indonesia experiences forest and peatland fires most frequently in six provinces, according to the disaster agency. Among these, South Sumatra province has witnessed significant peatland fires, such as the one that raged for several days in August.
Indonesia’s dry season fires reached catastrophic levels in 2015, scorching 10,000 square miles of land. The World Bank estimated the fires cost Indonesia a staggering $16 billion, while a study by Harvard and Columbia universities indicated that the haze hastened approximately 100,000 deaths in the region.