Indonesia fights fire with dry ice as toxic haze spreads across region
Having tried cloud seeding and water bombing, one pilot project will see dry ice dispersed by plane across the province of South Sumatra
TL;DR
- Indonesia is deploying dry ice as a new tactic to combat toxic haze from extensive fires.
- The country has previously attempted cloud seeding, water bombing, and military intervention without significant success.
- The current fire season is the worst in over a decade, worsened by an El Nino event and "slash and burn" agricultural practices.
- The resulting haze has caused widespread respiratory illnesses in Indonesia and affected air quality in neighboring countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
- Experts suggest dry ice may offer only temporary, localized relief and is unlikely to be a permanent solution.
- Air quality in Indonesian provinces has reached hazardous levels, with significant visibility reduction.