Massive Fires In Indonesia Impacting Malaysia, Southeast Asia
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR (Worthy News) – Hundreds of forest fires in Indonesia, the nation’s worst in years, have caused haze to reach areas of Malaysia where it has worsened air quality, officials said Saturday.
“This is so sad, really,” said an organizer of a house church and other Christian activities in a fire-impacted area.
At least one or more massive fires were linked to arson, added the well-informed woman, who identified herself as Viktoria and a member of the Christian minority in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation.
Indonesian authorities said a “shooting with flares during a pre-wedding party” triggered a massive fire in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park area in East Java province.
After the incident, police named one detained person, identified only as Awew, 41, from
East Java’s Lumajang Regency area as a suspect. If charged, he could face years in prison and a hefty fine.
However, many more fires rage, with satellite imagery showing 52 forest fires in Sumatra and 264 in Borneo, said the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), which tracks haze affecting Southeast Asia.
WORSENING AIR
There was concern Saturday that the blazes could further undermine air quality in nations where cities already struggle with pollution, including Malaysia.
Malaysia’s Department of Environment director-general Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said the fires “were worsening air pollution on the country’s west coast and Sarawak on the Malaysian part of Borneo island.”
He added that “overall air quality in the country shows deterioration. Forest fires in the southern part of Sumatra and the central and southern parts of Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia, have caused haze to cross borders.”
Outbreaks of smog-belching forest fires in 2019 promoted Malaysia to pressure Indonesia to combat the annual problem, often caused by blazes lit to clear agricultural land for plantation crops.
Firefighters on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra battled large peatland fires this month that covered Palembang, an Indonesian city of nearly two million people, in a haze for weeks.
The Indonesian fires happen annually during the dry season, but these are the worst since 2019 when they forced nearly 2,500 schools to close across Malaysia, observers said.
DEADLIEST BLAZES
Blazes in 2015 were also among the deadliest on record, cloaking Southeast Asia in toxic smoke for weeks and causing many people to become ill, schools to close, and flights to be canceled.
Most of Indonesia’s forest fires occur in Sumatra and Borneo, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Indonesia and Malaysia have carried out “cloud-seeding,” which uses chemicals to induce rain, in previous attempts to battle the fires.
The recurring smoke from fires in Southeast Asia is disrupting tourism. It reportedly costs local economies billions of dollars when the region is still recovering from the declared COVID-19 pandemic.
In a worrying sign, forecasters predicted the return of the El Nino phenomena in the coming months, bringing drier weather to Southeast Asia and more favorable fire conditions.
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