MANY schools across Indonesia remained closed for a second day on Aug 11 as thick haze from raging wildfires disrupted daily life, while authorities stepped up efforts to contain fires amid an increasingly severe dry season.
In West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, Pontianak Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono ordered schools to suspend in-person classes as smoke from fires elsewhere blanketed the city.
Children will study from home for as long as air quality remains poor, Kamtono said in a statement issued on Aug 10, although he did not specify how many schools were affected.
“We have started to feel it, especially at night and in the morning, as haze has already blanketed the city of Pontianak,” AFP quoted him saying.
On Java, firefighters were battling a wildfire for a ninth consecutive day at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, where almost 900ha had been destroyed by Aug 11.
The popular tourist attraction has been closed to visitors since Aug 8 as firefighters struggle to contain the blaze.
The fire is among several major wildfires that have prompted the deployment of nearly 50,000 firefighters and other personnel across Indonesia.
The country is forecast to experience an unusually severe dry season in 2026, with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) warning of heightened risks of drought and wildfires partly due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
More than 107,000ha of land have already been burnt nationwide this year, twice the area destroyed by wildfires in 2023.
Hot July
At Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, the fire had consumed almost 900ha, or more than 2,200 acres, by the morning of Aug 11 — equivalent to more than 1,200 football fields and nearly 2 per cent of the park’s total area.
“We’re making our best effort and mobilising everything... to extinguish and wet-down the area,” local disaster official Satriyo Nurseno told AFP.
“We hope that today we can put out the fire in all areas, then carry out soaking so that the fire does not reignite.”
Three water-bombing helicopters and fire trucks were supporting about 200 firefighters, forest rangers, police officers and soldiers battling the blaze.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), more than 48,000 personnel have been deployed to fight fires across six provinces.
Security Minister Djamari Chaniago said on Aug 10 that Indonesia had also deployed 43 helicopters and up to 15 fixed-wing aircraft for cloud-seeding operations where necessary.
The technique involves releasing particles such as silver iodide and salt from aircraft to encourage rainfall, although its effectiveness depends on suitable clouds being present.
As Indonesia braces for the worst effects of El Nino, BMKG said the country’s average air temperature in July reached 27 deg C, compared with the long-term average of 26.2 deg C.
It was the highest average temperature recorded for July since 1991.
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that alters global wind, air pressure and rainfall patterns. In India and South-east Asia, it typically brings hotter and drier conditions.
The previous El Nino contributed to 2023 and 2024 becoming the two hottest years globally on record. - August 11, 2026
