This year’s Indonesian forest fires set to surpass 1997 levels

Regional threat: A Nasa satellite image showing the extent of the smoke from the fires in Indonesia. — AFP

JAKARTA: The forest fires blanketing South-East Asia are on track to become the worst on record, Nasa has warned, in a crisis that has seen thousands of people seek medical treatment, flights grounded and schools closed.

Malaysia, Singapore and large expanses of Indonesia have suffered for weeks from acrid smoke billowing from fires on Indonesian plantations and peatlands that are being illegally cleared by burning.