Indonesia is choked in smoke from enormous wildfires, the fire can last for months

A thick layer of toxic smoke hangs over the west of Indonesia. On social media, residents of Palangkaraya, in Kalimantan, share images of their city shrouded in an orange blanket. People on the streets wear face masks, one person walks around with a gas mask. Almost 2 million hectares of nature burned this year in Indonesia. The fires started in June, are unimaginably large, and the smoke plumes have turned a significant part of Southeast Asia 'blue'. Emergency services have been trying to tame the fires for months, but without success. Only the monsoon rains can still quell the wildfires, and that might take some time. "We think it will remain dry for a few more weeks," says Professor of wildfires Guido van der Werf of Wageningen University. He thinks that heavy rains will only start in November or perhaps even December. "Then it will stop. The peat fires will burn for a few more weeks, but then the large burn will stop." The current fires in Indonesia are related to El Niño. This weather phenomenon changes the trade winds, which normally blow from east to west over the equator. This has major consequences for rainfall in Indonesia. This year is characterized by a historically severe El Niño, reasonably comparable or even stronger than that of 1997-1998. "Normally, the air comes from the Pacific Ocean towards Indonesia. So it is quite humid," Van der Werf continues. "That's why it rains a lot in Indonesia. During El Niño, that trade wind actually stops. That means that this humid air is no longer brought in and therefore it remains very dry in Indonesia." This drought provides ideal conditions for enormous fires. Fires are common in Indonesia around this time of year. Farmers burn pieces of land to clear the ground for agriculture. Originally a traditional way of land management for small farmers. Only now that it is so dry, the fires spread to, for example, the neighboring forest. The spreading fires can no longer be controlled. Van der Werf: "You have tropical forest. People want to clear it, and the cheapest way is to set it on fire. We see fire as a danger, but fire is a means to deforest." At the same time, farmers also see that the consequences are very large. "Those farmers are in a difficult position. On the one hand, they need it as a means to deforest. On the other hand, they also see how the population suffers." Not only farmers use fire. Slash-and-burn, as it is called, is also widely used by large palm oil companies to clear land for new plantations. It is officially prohibited, but enforcement is lacking. Toxic blanket The fires are a problem, the smoke they produce is just as big a problem. Air travel is disrupted, schools are closed, and in Makassar, hundreds of students took to the streets because they want the government to do more. This discontent is not only in Indonesia. Singapore and Malaysia have been in the smoke for months, to the great anger of the neighboring countries, who want the Indonesian government to intervene. Under pressure from protests at home and abroad, a number of people and companies have been prosecuted for causing the fires. "These are very large concentrations of smoke. It is very bad for people's health," explains Professor Van der Werf. "Your eyes start to water, you feel nauseous." He himself noticed this years ago during fieldwork in Indonesia. Then he could not see across the street due to the density of the smoke. "We could leave then, but the local population is there for months." Air quality above Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Borneo is now in the dangerous category. Singapore was one of the cities with the worst air quality in the world in recent weeks. In Indonesia alone, about 300,000 people have reported respiratory infections in recent weeks. The fires bring the region back to 2015, when almost 3 million hectares of nature burned. Although there is little to do about the fires in the short term, measures can be taken in the long term. "A lot of new rules have come after 2015," Van der Werf says. "That regulation is not very effective yet, but more can still be done." Rules and enforcement do not stop the current fires. Only the monsoon can do that. For now, the Indonesians and their neighboring countries can do nothing but wait for the rain.