Months-long Indonesia wildfires spew toxic haze across Southeast Asia

Fires in Indonesia that have sent toxic smoke sweeping across Southeast Asia have triggered the highest-level alert by the regional bloc's meteorological monitor. The months-long pollution spell has closed schools, fuelled a surge in respiratory conditions and restricted outdoor activities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor. The haze is made up of fumes the forest and peatland fires that have ravaged parts of Indonesia, most notably on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. These areas are covered in dense forests and vast stretches of ​peatland that are ‌especially prone to fire during the dry season, which usually runs from April to October. The region is also currently under the influence ⁠of severe "super-El Nino" weather conditions, which brought additional heat and dryness and caused wildfires to spread more quickly. While the extent of the damage remains unknown, environmental group Auriga reported that more than 637,000 hectares were burned from January to August this year, nine times the area of Singapore. Deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas put the figure even higher at nearly 900,000 hectares. 'High risk' "This thing needs to stop," Zul Hafiz, a 39-year-old t...