Indonesia: High alert for wildfires throughout country

Event

Emergency services in Indonesia are on high alert for wildfires amid the ongoing annual dry season, the peak of which typically occurs in September. Approximately 538 hotspots of active fires have been picked up by weather-reporting satellites in the past 24 hours as of Tuesday, August 22 - the highest number across the country this year.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), most of the fires have occurred in West Kalimantan province (193 hot spots) and Papua (143). Jambi, Riau, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan provinces remain under states of emergency due to ongoing firefighting efforts. Areas near the Singapore border have not been largely affected.

The dry season generally lasts through October.

Context

For more than 20 years, wildfires have been an annual occurrence in the region as farmers and agricultural companies clear Indonesia's forests and carbon-rich peatlands to make way for pulpwood, palm oil, and rubber plantations or for smaller-scale subsistence farming.

Advice

Individuals present in these areas are advised to follow all instructions issued by local authorities and to the situation.