This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For weeks, Indonesia has been battling fires that have burned vast swaths of forest and peat ecosystems, causing toxic haze to blanket parts of the country, Malaysia and Singapore. The fires have harmed humans and animals alike and prompted criminal charges, license suspensions and a presidential order to create a new agency to tackle fires in peat ecosystems.
Between January and July alone, more than 202,000 hectares (780 square miles) burned, according to government figures. That is an area roughly three times the size of the capital, Jakarta, and represents a 69% increase over the area burned during the same period last year. But the figures have not been updated since, and the burning has only worsened.
The Nusantara Atlas project, which uses satellite monitoring, estimates nearly 896,000 hectares (3,460 square miles)—over five times the size of Greater London—had burned by the end of August. South Papua province, on the country's easternmost island, was the most affected region, with over 168,000 hectares (650 square miles) burned as of August, according to Nusantara Atlas. NGO Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat said fires have been detected inside a large-scale government food estate project in South Papua, local media reported.
The El Niño weather phenomenon typically brings dry conditions to Indonesia, and this cycle is predicted to be among the strongest in decades and to last until early 2027. But experts said human factors are also key, including slash-and-burn land clearing and decades of forest degradation that have changed the naturally fire-resistant landscape. "El Niño isn't actually the cause, but it's a trigger.
There still needs to be an ignitor," IPB University forestry lecturer Ati Dwi Nurhayati told AFP. "We know that in peatlands, almost 100% (of the fires) was caused by human activity." Peat ecosystems are dense layers of partially decomposed organic materials that are normally waterlogged. But in much of Indonesia, they have been dried out so the land can be planted.
This has created highly flammable regions. Once peat catches fire, it can smolder and reignite for days, making firefighting efforts complex. In the first eight months of this year, over 212,000 hot spots were detected inside peat ecosystems across the country, according to NGO Pantau Gambut.
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