Indonesia fires have burned nearly 2 million hectares: Monitor

Indonesia's fires burned 1,916,588 hectares between January and the end of September. That equals about 4.74 million acres. The scale is striking because the burned area was nearly 12 times larger than London, giving a clear sense of how widespread the fires became.

Nusantara Atlas reached this estimate by analyzing satellite imagery. Its figures show that the burned area was 38% higher than at the same point in 2019. Most burning occurred after drought took hold from June, when conditions worsened during a strong El Niño cycle.

The true total may be larger. The monitor excludes individual burn scars smaller than 6.25 hectares and focuses on avoiding false detections. Heavy haze also blocked satellite images at times. Indonesia's government last reported 202,000 hectares burned by the end of July, far below the monitor's later estimate.

Regional haze is smoky, polluted air that affects several countries around the source of the fires. It matters because smoke can cross national borders, harming health and disrupting daily life far from the original flames. Indonesia's fires created a haze crisis across Southeast Asia.

The fires released smoke that drifted with the air toward neighboring countries. The article reports haze in Malaysia, East Timor, Singapore, and as far away as the Philippines. In Malaysia and East Timor, the pollution became serious enough to prompt school closures. Singapore also experienced repeated unhealthy air-quality readings.

Weather and wind carry smoke away from burning areas, allowing pollution to spread across borders. By Monday, Singapore had recorded 15 consecutive days with unhealthy air under its PSI system. Smoke from fires in Kalimantan, including land held through company concessions, was identified as possibly having moved toward Singapore.

Indonesia has fires every dry season, but this year's fires became particularly severe after drought took hold from June. Dry conditions leave vegetation and other burnable material with less moisture. That allows fires to start more easily, spread farther, and burn for longer.

The article links the worsening drought to a strong El Niño cycle. It also reports that the number of hot spots was still trending upward. Most of the 1.9 million hectares detected by Nusantara Atlas burned after June, showing how strongly the dry period shaped the crisis.

The consequences reached well beyond the burned land. Hundreds of thousands of people became sick locally, while smoke caused dangerous pollution in neighboring countries. Satellite estimates were also affected by the heavy haze. If dry conditions continue, fires can remain difficult to detect and control, while regional air quality can deteriorate further.

Satellite monitoring estimates burned area by examining images of Indonesia's land and identifying visible burn scars. This approach can cover huge areas more consistently than ground surveys. It matters because Indonesia had not released a newer official national total after reporting 202,000 hectares burned by the end of July.

Nusantara Atlas detected 1,916,588 hectares by the end of September. Its method excludes individual burn scars smaller than 6.25 hectares. The organization also prioritizes avoiding false detections, so it may leave out some areas rather than incorrectly label land as burned.

Heavy haze created another problem by obscuring satellite images at times. David Gaveau therefore said the reported total underestimates the true area burned. The estimate was already 38% higher than the comparable 2019 figure. Data from 2015 cannot be directly compared because these satellites were unavailable then.

The fires caused a regional health and pollution crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people became sick locally in Indonesia. Smoke then crossed borders, degrading air quality in Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor, and the Philippines. The effects reached both public health and ordinary routines.

Malaysia and East Timor closed schools because of the haze. Singapore's air quality also remained unhealthy for 15 consecutive days by Monday, according to its PSI system. Singapore defines a day as unhealthy if the PSI rises above 100 at any point. The streak exceeded the eight days recorded during the severe 2015 crisis.

Overall haze levels in Singapore were lower than the previous week, but the prolonged pollution remained serious. Singapore sent warnings to Indonesian companies, urging firefighting, an end to burning, and action plans. The continuing spread of smoke showed that Indonesian fires could create consequences across the wider region.

Indonesia is responsible for managing fires within its territory, through its government agencies and the companies operating affected concessions. The forestry ministry was asked about the figures, while Singapore directly urged Indonesian companies to deploy firefighting teams, stop burning, and submit action plans.

Malaysia offered assistance again as the regional haze worsened. Indonesia's officials rejected calls to declare a national disaster and said the country could manage the situation without foreign help. Coordinating Minister Dudung Abdurachman said the issue was not whether assistance was available, but whether Indonesia needed it.

This decision places the main response burden on Indonesia. Singapore continued monitoring smoke and sent warnings to additional companies after earlier notices to seven others. The article does not describe the full firefighting operation or explain whether Indonesia later accepted assistance. It does show that national control and cross-border pressure were central to the response.

El Niño is a recurring climate pattern involving unusually warm surface waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean. It can rearrange atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns across regions. For Indonesia, one effect can be reduced rainfall and a drier-than-usual season, although the exact effects vary.

This year, the article links a strong El Niño cycle with drought that took hold from June. Drier land and vegetation contain less moisture, so fires can ignite and spread more readily. Nusantara Atlas found that most of the detected burning occurred after June, when those dry conditions intensified.

El Niño did not create every fire by itself, but it made the landscape more favorable to severe burning. The result was a detected burned area 38% larger than at the same point in 2019. Hot spots were still increasing, and monitor David Gaveau said the year could be as bad as 2015, though comparable satellite data were unavailable.