Fires in Indonesia

In early Feb2014, forest and peat fires in Indonesia’s Riau province, on the island of Sumatra and Kalimantan, spiked to levels not seen since the previous Southeast Asian haze crisis of June 2013. Nearly 50,000 Indonesians are suffering respiratory ailments due to the haze, according to Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency. Dramatic satellite images of heavy smoke plumes show the large amount of pollutants being discharged to the atmosphere. The fires are extensive in areas with deep peat soils, suggesting high volumes of carbon are being released, contributing to climate change.