Over the vast forest fires raging across the archipelago, the Indonesian police arrested nearly 200 people. A toxic haze has sent air quality levels plummeting and resulted in flight cancellations.
Jakarta has deployed thousands of personnel to battle blazes that are turning land into charred landscapes and consuming forests in Sumatra and Borneo islands. Thousands of schools have been shut over health fears.
The fires are usually started by illegal burning to clear land for farming. It has unleashed a choking haze across Southeast Asia, triggering diplomatic tensions with Indonesia's neighbours. At least 81 flights were cancelled, 63 delayed and nine were diverted on Sunday alone by Indonesia's largest carrier, privately-owned Lion Air Group.
Around 185 people suspected of being involved in activities that led to out-of-control fires sweeping the country were arrested.
"Indonesian Police will enforce the law against anyone who is proven to have carried out forest and land burning, whether it was done intentionally or through negligence," National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told reporters in Jakarta.
"This is the last resort. The most important thing is prevention." Four corporations were also being investigated, he added.
Thousands of Indonesian firefighters are locked in an around-the-clock battle to put out the fires, but, experts say that the fires may not be extinguished anytime soon. More than 9000 personnel have been deployed by Jakarta to battle the fires. But blazes smoulder deep underground in once-swampy areas known as peatlands. And these can last for months whilst releasing a thick, acrid smoke. According to sources close to the firefighters, these keep reigniting. Fires are usually set to clear land for the lucrative palm oil and pulpwood industries. Authorities are beefing up law enforcement to catch those responsible for illegal burning and have made arrangements to restore the peatlands that have been degraded due to the fire.
Last week, dozens of plantations where smog-belching fires were blazing, were sealed off by the Indonesian government. These included Malaysia and Singapore-based firms, that could face criminal charges if evidence of illegal burning was found.
Thick haze in Borneo — where air quality levels have plummeted to "dangerous" levels in some areas — caused the cancellation of about a dozen flights Sunday, national airline Garuda said.
Nearly 150,000 people have been treated for acute respiratory infections linked to the haze in recent months, according to Indonesian health authorities.
An annual problem, the situation this year has been worsened by drier weather in Indonesia. The haze has pushed Singapore's air quality to unhealthy levels for the first time in three years at the weekend.
In 2015, Indonesia suffered its worst forest fires for almost two decades, which dramatically increased its greenhouse gas emissions.
Huge fires tearing through the Amazon are also compounding concerns about the long-term impact of such blazes on keeping global temperature levels stable.
