Indonesia fires toxic haze: dry ice drop tested over Sumatra
Indonesia will drop 1.5 tons of dry ice from a Cessna over Palembang on Thursday in a new attempt to fight the toxic haze from its fires - the latest front in the Indonesia fires toxic haze crisis that has marked the worst fire season in more than a decade.
Indonesia fires toxic haze: dry ice drop tested over Sumatra
A Cessna aircraft will reportedly disperse 1.5 tons of dry ice over the South Sumatran city of Palembang to ease smoke and improve air quality and visibility, according to coordinating security minister Dudung Abdurachman. The trial is being carried out under the president's direct instruction, and results will be watched before any wider rollout.
Dry ice trial under presidential instruction
Dudung Abdurachman, quoted by state news agency Antara, said the experiment aims directly at the haze blanketing South Sumatra. He framed it as a presidential order rather than a routine agency measure.
"This trial of dry ice dispersal is being conducted under the president's direct instruction to help tackle the haze in South Sumatra"
The technique itself is not new: it was first deployed in the 1940s to promote ice formation in clouds, according to Bloomberg. If the drop shows results, the government says the same approach could be extended elsewhere in the country.
Worst fire season in more than a decade
Since January, almost 900,000 hectares have burned Indonesia-wide, making this the worst fire season in more than a decade. Two factors have made it worse:
- this year's "godzilla" El-Nino
- the persistence of "slash and burn" clearing for crops such as palm oil
President Prabowo Subianto has ordered firefighting efforts stepped up and called for a crackdown on those suspected of starting fires. The hardest blazes to fight are in peatland areas, which can burn for weeks underground. Before turning to dry ice, Indonesia had already tried cloud seeding, water bombing and deploying army personnel.
Hazardous air at home and across the region
In central Kalimantan on Wednesday, the ISPU air pollution index exceeded 1,200 - four times the "hazardous" level of 300, environment ministry data showed. Local news footage showed haze blanketing Palangka Raya, cutting visibility for motorists to a minimum.
For months, millions of Indonesians have breathed thick smoke. Tens of thousands of people have sought treatment for respiratory illness linked to the haze, and a class action lawsuit filed last week accuses the government of "gross negligence".
The damage is not confined to Indonesia. The haze has drifted into Singapore, Malaysia and as far afield as the Philippines. In neighbouring countries, poor air quality has shuttered schools, grounded flights and driven a spike in respiratory illness.
- Timor-Leste will shut schools nationwide for three days from Thursday and urged families to keep children indoors or use "respiratory protection" outside.
- Singapore rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment starting Monday - a measure last activated in 2015 - and began distributing N95 masks to eligible residents.
- In the past week, Singapore was listed among the most polluted cities globally, with Kuala Lumpur at number two.
Expert caution on a lasting fix
Rick McRae, an adjunct professor at UNSW's bushfire research group, said dry ice has some promise but limited reach. "It's got some potential for local relief that might work for a while," he said.
His concern is that weather systems move east to west, so any smoke cleared is constantly replaced - "it's not going to be simple and it's not going to be a permanent fix in any way." With climate change, he added, the problem could become global: "There's a lot of interconnectedness on a global scale."
For now, the trial's results will first be observed, and the method could be extended to other regions if effective, the minister said.
