Dozens of Indonesian schools have been closed for a second day as wildfires continue to ravage the archipelago. The haze from the fires has prompted authorities to shut down schools in several regions, including West Kalimantan and Java. The mayor of Pontianak in West Kalimantan ordered schools to close due to the smoke from fires in the area. Firefighters have been battling blazes for days, with nearly 50,000 personnel deployed across six provinces. The situation is exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is expected to worsen the dry season and increase the risk of wildfires.
The wildfires have consumed over 107,000 hectares of land nationwide this year, more than double the area burned in 2023. In East Java, firefighters are working to extinguish a blaze at the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, which has destroyed nearly 900 hectares. Local disaster official Satriyo Nurseno stated that efforts are being made to wet down the area to prevent the fire from reigniting. The government has deployed helicopters and planes for cloud seeding to induce rainfall, though this method depends on the presence of clouds.
Indonesia's weather agency, BMKG, has reported that the average air temperature in July was 27°C, higher than the 26.2°C average, marking the highest such jump for July since 1991. El Niño, a climate phenomenon that typically causes drier conditions in Southeast Asia, is contributing to the severity of the situation. Authorities have assured that food stocks remain adequate despite the challenges posed by the wildfires.
