A police officer spraying water in an attempt to extinguish a fire razing through a peatland field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra on July 20, 2025. - AP
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s western region is now on high alert, as fires continue to rip through forest and peatlands in Sumatra island.
“The hot and dry weather conditions have increased the risk, especially as rainfall has significantly declined across much of Sumatra,” Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), told the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua on Tuesday (July 22).
