Indonesian firefighters struggle against relentless peat fires and hazardous haze in West Kalimantan

In West Kalimantan’s Sintang regency, fire chief Sampe Ritonga leads a small team with just two 6,000-litre engines, fighting dozens of peatland fires that spread beneath the soil and generate dense haze. The blazes are attributed to an unusually strong El Niño, long-term forest degradation, and slash-and-burn agriculture, while climate change worsens conditions. Residents like 47-year-old Sutrismi report fear as smoke fills homes and the provincial capital Pontianak records PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 500 µg/m³, far above safe limits.

Schools have shut down, affecting about 200,000 pupils, and hospitals see a surge in respiratory ailments. Governor Ria Norsan says the province has mobilised nearly 14,500 firefighters, nine water-bombing planes, patrol aircraft and a cloud-seeding unit, yet crews still lack hoses and water sources. Environmental groups such as Greenpeace Indonesia blame drained peat from plantations and urge the government to declare a national disaster.