COMMENT: As toxic haze blankets South-East Asia, Indonesia is running out of excuses

FILE PHOTO: A firefighter sprays water in an attempt to extinguish a wildfire burning through a peatland forest in Pulang Pisau, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, Sept. 5, 2026. Alarming satellite data compiled by independent forest monitor Nusantara Atlas showed this burned area has decisively outpaced the figures recorded during the catastrophic 2019 and 2023 fire seasons. - AP

JAKARTA: Pressure continues to mount on Indonesia to contain its rapidly spreading forest and peatland fires. The ecological disaster now poses a threat to not only the health and livelihoods of millions at home but also populations across its South-East Asian neighbours, and not least to global climate stability.

By late August, uncontrollable blazes had scorched nearly 900,000 hectares of land. Alarming satellite data compiled by independent forest monitor Nusantara Atlas showed this burned area has decisively outpaced the figures recorded during the catastrophic 2019 and 2023 fire seasons.

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资料照片：2026年9月5日，在印度尼西亚中加里曼丹省普朗皮绍，一名消防员正在喷水试图扑灭一场肆虐泥炭地森林的野火。独立森林监测机构努桑塔拉地图集（Nusantara Atlas）汇编的卫星数据显示，此次火灾过火面积已远远超过2019年和2023年灾难性火灾季的记录。——美联社

雅加达：印尼面临的压力持续增大，亟需控制迅速蔓延的森林和泥炭地火灾。这场生态灾难不仅威胁着印尼数百万民众的健康和生计，也威胁着东南亚邻国的人口，更危及全球气候稳定。

截至8月下旬，失控的大火已烧毁近90万公顷土地。独立森林监测机构努桑塔拉地图集汇编的令人震惊的卫星数据显示，这一过火面积已远远超过2019年和2023年灾难性火灾季的记录数字。

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受厄尔尼诺现象影响，印尼森林火灾风险预计将持续到10月初，降雨量仍然偏低。

印尼预测雨季将于11月初开始，比预期要晚。

印尼主办十年来规模最大的东盟主导的防务和灾害应对演习。