Schools closed as Indonesia battles wildfires

Dozens of Indonesian schools were shuttered for a second day Tuesday to protect against the spreading haze from wildfires at the start of a long and intense dry season worsened by El Nino.

On the island of Borneo, the mayor of the city of Pontianak ordered schools closed due to the smoke wafting over the city from fires elsewhere.

Public records show there are tens of thousands of public school pupils in the city, which is in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province.

Indonesia shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei.

Children will learn from home for as long as the air quality remains poor, mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono said in a statement Monday, without stating 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.

The haze also affected Malaysia.

The air pollution index for Malaysia's small eastern town of Serian, Sarawak, showed an "unhealthy" level of 190 on Tuesday.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department urged locals to stay indoors, with director-general Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip blaming a "cross-border haze phenomenon from Kalimantan."

In 2015, schools in Malaysia were ordered to close for two days because of health concerns caused by severe haze from Indonesian fires.

On the Indonesian island of Java, firefighters battled flames for a ninth day at a national park where a blaze has scorched 900 hectares, or 2,200 acres -- equal to two percent of the park's total area.

The wildfire at the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, a major tourist attraction closed to visitors since Saturday, is one of several that have drawn in nearly 50,000 firefighters countrywide.

Indonesia is forecast to experience an unusually tough dry season this year with high risk for drought and wildfires due in part to the El Nino weather phenomenon, the BMKG weather agency has said.

More than 107,000 hectares of land have burnt countrywide so far this year.

Authorities insist that food stocks remain adequate.

Firefighters were in an all-out battle to control the flames in East Java's Bromo park.

"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 providing support to about 200 firefighters, forest rangers, police and soldiers helping to put out 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 Monday Indonesia had deployed 43 helicopters and up to 15 fixed-wing planes for cloud seeding where needed.

The process involves spraying particles such as silver iodide and salt from aircraft to produce rainfall, but depends on clouds being present.

As Indonesia braces for the worst effects of El Nino, the BMKG said the average air temperature in July was 27C -- well above the 26.2C average for the month.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall patterns.

In India and Southeast Asia, it typically causes drier conditions.

The last El Nino helped make 2023 and 2024 the two hottest years globally on record.

The land razed by wildfires in Indonesia so far this year is double the area burnt in 2023.