After the devastating fires in the Amazon rainforests, lots of forests in the Indonesian island of Sumatra have been deliberately lit to clear land for agricultural use. BBC reports that this slash-and-burn technique is illegal in the area but is still undertaken during the dry season from July to October. 328,724 hectares of land has been cleared using this method in 2019.
The result? Smoke has filled the air causing respiratory infections, cancellation of flights and the closure of schools.
The situation in the village of Muaro Jambi has worsened so much that on Saturday, the afternoon skies turned a scary shade of red. According to The Guardian, the clearing of land for oil palm, pulp and paper plantations has raised air pollution to alarming levels.
This was Indonesia at 1pm yesterday. No, this is not an Instagram filter. The sky was literally red. pic.twitter.com/hTzHRQYloD
— Neeha || not very active but I exist hehe (@fangirl_1784) September 23, 2019
ABC News quoted meteorologist Nate Byrne explaining that the phenomenon was called Mie scattering. He said,
“Light from the sun gets scattered when it hits molecules or small particles in the atmosphere. Because smoke is made up of tiny particles, much more scattering occurs than would happen in clear air, so the red light becomes more intense.”
The fires are so severe that the resultant toxic smog has spread to neighbouring countries of Singapore and Malaysia. Many residents have posted terrifying photos and videos on Twitter urging Indonesian President Joko Widodo to look into the matter.
Genuinely terrifying image from Indonesia’s ongoing environmental catastrophe: red sky in Muaro Jambi, in Sumatra. pic.twitter.com/G45MvigNjM
— Mattias Fibiger (@mefibiger) September 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/hailwidows/status/1175635019504599040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1175635019504599040%7Ctwgr%5E363937393b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cntraveller.in%2Fstory%2Findonesias-forest-fires-turned-the-sky-blood-red-this-weekend%2F
Senjanya anak kopi senja mah belum ada apa-apanya pic.twitter.com/yAGKNpl9xh
— romyyyyy (@romywahyuddin) September 22, 2019
Ini sore bukan malam. Ini bumi bukan planet mars. Ini jambi bukan di luar angkasa. Ini kami yang bernafas dengan paru-paru, bukannya dengan insang. Kami ini manusia butuh udara yang bersih, bukan penuh asap.
Lokasi : Kumpeh, Muaro Jambi #KabutAsap #KebakaranHutanMakinMenggila pic.twitter.com/ZwGMVhItwi— Zuni Shofi Yatun Nisa (@zunishofiyn) September 21, 2019
Red sky seen in #Jambi, Indonesia. What you’re seeing is Mie scattering/ Reyleigh scattering. The reason this is happening is due to toxic pollution which is 153% higher than what is typically considered to be toxic air pollution. We have screwed this
planet.🙁😣 #AirPollution pic.twitter.com/pX9A0HBEk1— Juned Sumra (@JunedSumra) September 24, 2019
Are we living in an alternate #universe? It was only 11am in the morning, and the skies at Jambi in Sumatra turned hellish red. #haze #deforestation pic.twitter.com/P4PHFC8DyG
— Sharon Salim (@sharonssalim) September 23, 2019
We hope that the authorities take adequate steps to curb man-made forest fires and ensure that the air is safe for everyone to breathe #PrayForJambi.