Firefighters battle peatland blazes as thick haze shrouds Indonesian city of Palembang

TOPSHOT - Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on September 14, 2023. Hundreds of hectares of land have burned over the past two days, worsening the air quality in the city of Palembang. -(Photo by Al ZULKIFLI/ AFP)

Palembang, Indonesia, Sept 15, 2023 (AFP): Firefighters on a western Indonesian island were battling large peatland fires on Friday that have covered Palembang, a city of nearly two million people, in a haze for weeks, officials said.

A prolonged dry season has caused higher risks of wildfires on the archipelago nation's major islands, stoking fears of repeat haze-belching forest fires that have also affected neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore in recent years.