Schools Closed as Indonesia Battles Wildfires

Dozens of schools across Indonesia were forced to close for a second consecutive day as a thick haze from spreading wildfires blanketed the archipelago. The situation is particularly acute in West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, where the mayor of Pontianak ordered schools shut due to smoke drifting over the city from fires elsewhere.

Public records indicate that tens of thousands of students in Pontianak will be learning from home until air quality improves. Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono stated in a release on Monday that the haze has already enveloped the city, especially noticeable during the night and early morning hours. The exact number of affected schools was not specified.

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We have started to feel it, especially at night and in the morning, as haze has already blanketed the city of Pontianak.

Meanwhile, on the island of Java, firefighters are engaged in a ninth day of battling a significant inferno at the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. This popular tourist destination, closed to visitors since Saturday, has lost approximately 900 hectares (over 2,200 acres) to the flames. This area is equivalent to more than 1,200 football fields, representing nearly two percent of the park's total area.

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We're making our best effort and mobilizing everything... to extinguish and wet-down the area.

Authorities have deployed substantial resources to combat the numerous wildfires across the country. According to the national disaster agency (BNPB), over 48,000 personnel have been deployed in six provinces. Efforts include deploying 43 helicopters and 15 fixed-wing planes for cloud seeding operations, which aim to induce rainfall by spraying particles into the atmosphere, provided clouds are present.

Indonesia is anticipating a particularly challenging dry season this year, with a heightened risk of drought and wildfires attributed partly to the El Niño weather phenomenon. The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) has noted that the average air temperature in July was 27 degrees Celsius, higher than the 26.2 C average recorded previously, marking the most significant July temperature increase since 1991. So far this year, over 107,000 hectares of land have been consumed by fires nationwide. Despite these challenges, authorities maintain that national food stocks remain adequate.

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We hope that today we can put out the fire in all areas, then carry out soaking so that the fire does not reignite.