Indonesian schools close as wildfire haze blankets cities

Dozens of Indonesian schools were closed for a second day on Tuesday as thick haze from wildfires spread across parts of the archipelago, with authorities warning of worsening air quality at the start of an intense dry season compounded by El Niño.

In West Kalimantan on Borneo, Pontianak Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono ordered schools to remain closed as smoke from fires in surrounding areas blanketed the city.

Public records show that tens of thousands of pupils attend public schools in Pontianak. Kamtono said students would continue learning from home as long as air quality remained poor, but 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,” he said in a statement on Monday.

On Java, firefighters were battling a blaze for a ninth consecutive day at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, where nearly 900 hectares had been burned by Tuesday morning.

The national park, one of Indonesia’s major tourist attractions, has been closed to visitors since Saturday.

The Bromo fire is among several wildfires that have prompted the deployment of nearly 50,000 firefighters and other personnel across the country.

Indonesia is expected to experience an unusually severe dry season this year, with the BMKG weather agency warning of an increased risk of drought and wildfires partly due to the El Niño weather phenomenon.

More than 107,000 hectares of land have already been burned across the country this year, twice the area affected by wildfires in 2023.

Bromo blaze spreads

The fire at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java had consumed nearly 900 hectares, or more than 2,200 acres, by Tuesday morning.

The affected area is equivalent to more than 1,200 football fields and nearly 2% 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 and soldiers battling the blaze.

According to the BNPB disaster agency, more than 48,000 personnel have been deployed to fight fires in six provinces.

Security Minister Djamari Chaniago said on Monday that Indonesia had deployed 43 helicopters and up to 15 fixed-wing aircraft for cloud-seeding operations where necessary.

The process involves dispersing particles such as silver iodide and salt from aircraft to encourage rainfall, but it depends on suitable clouds being present.

Haze risk grows with El Niño

As Indonesia braces for the worst effects of El Niño, the BMKG said the country’s average air temperature in July was 27C, above the long-term average of 26.2C.

It was the highest average July temperature recorded since 1991.

El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that causes changes in global wind, air pressure and rainfall patterns. In India and Southeast Asia, it typically brings drier conditions.

The last El Niño contributed to 2023 and 2024 becoming the two hottest years globally on record.

Authorities have maintained that food stocks remain adequate despite the worsening fires and dry conditions.