Indonesia: an area the size of Puerto Rico burned to the ground

Environment · Lorenzo Brenna · 2019-10-24

In Indonesia, as a result of the fires that devastated the country — particularly in September — 8,578 square kilometres of land were reduced to ashes.

This year too, Indonesia, home to some of the planet's oldest primary forests, has paid a heavy price for fires. The blazes, which peaked in September, were the worst since 2015. A total of 8,578 square kilometres of land were burned across the country, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Fuoco brucia le torbiere in Indonesia — In Indonesia, around 800,000 hectares of forest are razed to the ground every year; the fires that strike the country annually only serve to worsen the situation © Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Borneo reduced to ashes

Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, is the area most affected by the fires, with 4,281 square kilometres of burned surface, followed by Sumatra with 1,887 square kilometres. However, the majority of the blazes — around 93 per cent — struck areas that had already been deforested, explained Raffles B. Pandjaitan, the official in charge of forest fire management at the Indonesian Ministry of Environment. A quarter of the burned areas is instead covered by drained and degraded peatlands, deposits of plant residues that are extremely flammable and capable of storing enormous quantities of CO2.

Donna indonesiana prova a spegnere un incendio — The fires make the air unbreathable and also represent a public health emergency © Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

The flames show no sign of abating

The fires are mostly set deliberately and are used to deforest land for the production of wood pulp, paper and palm oil. The flames continue to spread, making the air increasingly unbreathable across the Asian nation. The blazes are still burning in particular in the eastern areas of the island of Java and in the province of Jambi, located on the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra.

Read also: In Indonesia il cielo è rosso come il fuoco. In fumo 380mila ettari di foresta

Here they are spreading into the Sembilang national park, an area exceptionally rich in biodiversity that provides refuge for rare and threatened species, such as the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi). The flames have forced local authorities to order the closure of primary schools and are expected to keep burning until the end of the year, Raffles said.

Foresta del Borneo colpita da un incendio — Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with the extensive forest fires that have struck the country © Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Fires on the decline

The number of burned areas has fallen sharply compared to last month, also thanks to rainfall in many regions. In October, 3,054 hotspots were recorded, down from 16,429 in September. The intensity of the haze, which for weeks literally engulfed Indonesia, Singapore and parts of Malaysia, has also eased following the end of the dry season.