Researchers say Indonesian fires burnt 1.6 million hectares of land this year

Fires in Indonesia have spread rapidly over Southeast Asia this year which burned at least 1.6 million hectares of mostly degraded land and carbon-rich peatlands, according to the researchers on December 2. Southeast Asia has suffered for years from smoke caused by fires in Indonesia which have posed a threat to health and the environment. But the fire burns were the worst since 2015 when 2.6 million hectares were burned. Slash-and-burn agriculture has often been blamed for the fires which spread rapidly mostly during the dry weather.

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3% of fires occurred on oil palm plantations

The Indonesian fires have been criticized for an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation that has posed a threat to wildlife such as Orangutans. Jakarta-based Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) said that its analysis of satellite imagery from the first ten months of the year showed most of the fires were in lands cleared years ago. The researchers have estimated that around 60,000 hectares of rainforests were burnt this year as of October. About 3 per cent of fires occurred on oil palm plantations. The environment and forestry ministry of Indonesia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CIFOR data. A forest official said that earlier this year around 8,57,756 hectares of land burnt as of end-September.

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Aerosols

In order to witness a red sky, aerosols must be present in the air according to a US-based researcher, AR Ravishankara. Aerosols are strong or liquid particles suspended in the air all-around that can be generated from both regular procedures and activities by human beings. The regular structure can be a result of wild forest fires, dust kicked up by storms or volcanic eruptions in addition to other things. As indicated by reports, the sky had turned red in parts of Sumatra because of the dispersing of the sun's rays by particles floating in the air, a phenomenon also called the Mie scattering.
The reports also indicated that there was evidence of very thick smog in the Muaro Jambi area of Sumatra with satellite readings giving the indications of many hot spots. The satellite showcased a few regions seemed dark in colour yet the Jambi area seemed to be white in colour, showing the smoke to be thick. 

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