Indonesia braces for peak dry season after massive 2019 forest fires

A firefighter tries to extinguish peat land fire at Siak Hulu in Riau, Indonesia, in this file photo taken on Sept. 9, 2019. - Xinhua

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The government seeks to double down on peatland fire prevention and law enforcement following the massive fires that ravaged much of Indonesia's forests last year.

As we enter the dry season, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said the ministry has been creating artificial rain to prevent peatland fires in several fire-prone areas, with the help of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).