As Indonesia's wildfire season intensifies, authorities are on high alert as they work to contain the damage and avoid the devastation that hit the archipelago in 2015, the last time it faced such severe "super-El Niño" weather conditions.
Indonesia has deployed cloud-seeding and firefighting aircraft in an effort to prevent fire and smoke from spreading in several key "hotspots," particularly in five provinces on Borneo island, home to vast stretches of fire-prone peatland.
What role is El Niño playing?
While El Niño is not a direct cause of fires, it serves as a catalyst, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency chief told Reuters, with the additional heat and dryness enabling them to spread more quickly.
The El Niño index has already exceeded 2015 levels, Indonesian authorities said, while Columbia University climate scientist James Hansen has described this year's El Niño data as "off the charts."
