Indonesia’s Fires Burn an Area 3 Times the Size of Singapore as Toxic Haze Chokes Millions

Indonesia’s Fires Burn an Area 3 Times the Size of Singapore as Toxic Haze Chokes Millions

Indonesia is battling its worst wildfire season in 11 years, with fires burning an area three times the size of Singapore and spreading toxic haze across Southeast Asia. The crisis has forced emergency crews into action across multiple provinces and pushed air quality in Singapore to health-risk levels for the first time since 2019.

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Indonesia is facing what NASA calls the "apex predator" of wildfires—the most destructive class of fire—as forest and peatland blazes burn across the country [242825]. The fires have already consumed an area three times the size of Singapore, and toxic haze from the blazes is choking millions of people across Southeast Asia [242825].

This year's fire season is the worst in 11 years, worsened by a strong El Nino weather pattern [242521]. Analysts warn the crisis could slow economic activity, harm public health, and weaken trust in Indonesia's new carbon market [242521].

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has intensified its response, deploying personnel, aircraft, and equipment to fight fires from the ground and air across six priority provinces [239822]. The agency is now expanding containment efforts beyond the originally marked priority areas as fires that once seemed contained threaten a wider region [241954].

In Singapore, all five regions recorded unhealthy air quality on Tuesday—the first time this has happened since September 2019, according to the National Environment Agency [241256]. Singapore's air now ranks among the 10 most polluted cities in the world, according to IQAir data, with the capitals of Malaysia and Indonesia also on the list [241256].

On the frontlines in Kalimantan, Indonesia, local women are fighting back to protect their communities. Irma, a volunteer firefighter from the village of Sungai Putri on the Indonesian side of Borneo island, pulls on heavy rubber boots and rides her motorbike into fire zones wearing full safety gear as toxic smoke fills the air around her [242828].

Joint teams are also battling fires in Meru Betiri National Park in East Java, where blazes were spotted in Curahnongko Village, Jember [239864].

Forest and land fires, known locally as karhutla, are a recurring problem in Indonesia. They often spread rapidly during the dry season and can blanket the region in toxic haze [241954].

Sources

Indonesia's 'Apex Predator' Fires: A Climate Emergency Choking Southeast Asia #242825Indonesia's Fires Threaten Economy and Carbon Market #242521Women Fight Fire and Patriarchy to Save Borneo's Forests #242828Singapore Choked by Indonesian Wildfire Smoke #241256Indonesia's Fire Crisis Widens: Containment Efforts Expand Beyond Priority Provinces #241954Indonesia deploys emergency crews as forest fires spread in six provinces #239822Indonesia battles forest fire in Meru Betiri National Park #239864

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