As El Niño enters its second year of climate disruption, countries in
the Far East are bracing themselves for the return of last year’s massive bush
fires and choking smog. In recent weeks, remote-sensing satellites have spotted
more than 200 fires in Sumatra and a similar number in east Kalimantan. David
Wall, the director of an EU-funded fire prevention project that advises the
Indonesian government, warns of “another onslaught of fires if the drier than
usual weather extends into the coming dry season”.
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