Working around the clock, thousands of firefighters are struggling to contain smog-belching blazes raging across rainforests and farmland in Indonesia, one of the frontlines against fires blamed for aggravating global warming.
Those leading the response are short on equipment, with some wearing just flimsy masks and rubber boots as they blast streams of water at flames consuming the jungle -- and enveloping wide swathes of Southeast Asia in toxic haze.
Firefighters try to extinguish brush fires in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019. Source: AP
"I'm supposed to wear proper protective gear but we've only got limited equipment," said Darmadi, a soldier deployed to Kampar district on hard-hit Sumatra island.
"Still, I have to be ready when duty calls."
AFP images from the worst-affected areas show the dark silhouette of firefighters set against the orange glow of jungle blazes, endless stretches of scorched earth and charred trees, deserted schools and suffering residents.
Indonesian military personnel spray water on burning peat land in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, 14 September 2019. Source: EPA
The culprit is usually illegal fires set to clear land for farming on Sumatra and Borneo islands.
The most serious fires occur in peatlands, which are highly combustible when drained of water to be converted into plantations.
But Indonesia is only part of a bigger problem.
Huge fires tearing through the Amazon are also compounding concerns about the long-term impact of such blazes -- rainforests play a key role in protecting the planet against global warming.
Indonesian boys wear masks due to haze as they play at a playground in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, 14 September 2019. Source: EPA
The situation this year has been worsened by drier weather in Indonesia, with air pollution drifting over to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore and stoking diplomatic tensions.
Thousands of personnel and water-bombing helicopters are only keeping the flames at bay and the rainy season -- which usually starts in October -- could be the only thing able to douse them.
That respite cannot come soon enough for people who live in and around Pekanbaru, a provincial capital on Sumatra blanketed with dense smoke that leaves the sky dark even at midday.
