JAKARTA — Indonesian wildfires released 19.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from Sept. 1–7, overtaking Russia and accounting for more than one-third of the global total, according to Copernicus Fire Emissions Watch data cited by Reuters.
Fire intensity exceeded 1,500 kilograms per square kilometer in Kalimantan and eastern Sumatra. Analysts described the season as the most intense in 11 years, fueled by a super El Niño drought.
Authorities expect fires to continue through October. Historical context from the 2015 haze crisis noted daily emissions that at times exceeded those of the entire European Union and roughly 100,000 excess regional deaths that year.
Scientists and officials warn that peatland burning is again driving outsized greenhouse-gas releases across Southeast Asia.
Sources: The Star / Reuters, CNN
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