Government Tackles Forest and Land Fires Across 107,000 Hectares Amid El Niño

The government is currently handling forest and land fires (karhutla) that have affected an area of 107,000 hectares in several regions of Indonesia. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago stated that the fires were triggered by drought and the prevailing strong El Niño phenomenon.

“We are facing a strong El Niño, which has been occurring and will continue until early September or early October,” Djamari said during a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs office in Central Jakarta on Monday.

Djamari noted that the 107,000 hectares of burned area are spread across several regions, including those categorised as both prone and not prone to forest and land fires. To tackle the blazes, the government has deployed aircraft and helicopters to conduct water bombing from the air.

“We have deployed around 43 helicopters as of today, plus fixed-wing aircraft ranging from 10 to 15 depending on the need,” Djamari said. He expressed confidence that with these various efforts, the hotspots in the affected areas can be extinguished in the near future.