JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia on Monday intensified ground and aerial firefighting operations as huge blazes in central and western parts of the country scorched thousands of hectares of forests and peatland, created a choking haze that blanketed cities and crossed borders.
Indonesian authorities have been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia and Brunei, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB.
The BNPB said Monday that fires remain active in several regions, while large-scale suppression efforts continue in fire-prone provinces including West, Central and South Kalimantan on Borneo island and in Riau, South Sumatra and Jambi on Sumatra island. The fires are part of a broader surge in wildfire activity across Indonesia this year.
Drought, strong winds and dry vegetation have complicated efforts to contain the fires, BNPB said in a statement on Monday. Some hot spots remained inaccessible to more than 24,000 ground firefighters who were deployed on Sumatra and Borneo, prompting local officials to request additional water-bombing support.
Prabowo visits fire-affected areas
After visiting areas devastated by forest and peatland fires in Central Kalimantan on Saturday, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Monday flew to fire-affected Riau and its neighboring province of South Sumatra, where more than 36,000 hectares (89,000 acres) have burned in 10 provinces, to encourage authorities to get the haze cloud under control.
Prabowo vowed the government would continue supporting firefighting operations, including through the deployment of additional water-bombing helicopters and oxygen supplies for firefighters. He urged authorities to “thoroughly document and report the work being carried out by firefighting teams” directly to him.
Prabowo also called for stronger public education and outreach efforts, saying the central government will deploy about 1,000 military and police officers to work alongside regional authorities in raising awareness and preventing forest and land fires.
The Environment Ministry satellite data on Monday showed South Sumatra recorded the highest number of hot spots nationwide with 1,429, followed by West Kalimantan with 1,226 and Central Kalimantan with 811. East Kalimantan logged 576 hot spots, ahead of Riau with 503, while West Papua and Jambi recorded 468 and 458 hot spots, respectively.
Forestry Ministry data indicated that nearly 94,000 hectares (232,000 acres) burned in July alone nationwide.
The Transportation Ministry said it has authorized the use of 35 foreign-registered aircraft to support wildfire response operations, including water-bombing missions and aerial patrols. The ministry said the aircraft can be rapidly redeployed to disaster-hit areas as conditions change, while complying with Indonesian aviation safety regulations.
Indonesia and Malaysia boost cloud seeding against wildfires
Indonesia is actively intensifying weather-modification operations to help firefighters combat wildfire by inducing rainfall through the dispersal of salt particles into suitable clouds, with 30 aircraft for water-bombing and cloud-seeding over Kalimantan and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.
Malaysian authorities said Monday that Indonesia has granted permission for its aircraft to enter Indonesian airspace to conduct cloud-seeding operations along their shared border as the two neighbors step up efforts to tackle the worsening haze.
Malaysia’s Environment Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said the country was preparing an operational plan and could also offer Indonesia help fighting fires if requested. He said the measures were critical to ensure air quality improves as Malaysia prepares to celebrate National Day on Aug. 31, to mark the 69th independence day from British rule.
The country also celebrates Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, to mark the unification of the entire nation, and this year the commemorations will be held in its eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island, one of the areas most affected by the haze, he said.
Nearly 600 schools in Sarawak were closed last week as air quality deteriorated and affecting about 200,000 students, while officials expect hot, dry conditions to persist into October. On Monday, data from Malaysia’s Environment Department showed 20 areas with unhealthy air quality in parts of peninsula Malaysia and Sarawak.
Fires are a regular problem during dry season in Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, and often strain relations with neighbors.
Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming. It triggers hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts land and air transportation and threatens public health, sometimes affecting neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.
___
Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Indonesia intensifies aerial firefighting as forest fires scorch multiple provinces 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-08-24 14:54:52
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
