South Sumatra turns to prayer as wildfires blanket province in toxic haze
About 3,000 residents in Palembang joined a special rain prayer as South Sumatra battles the nation's worst wildfire outbreak, with thick smoke disrupting daily life.
Authorities in Indonesia's South Sumatra province have resorted to spiritual intervention as wildfires continue to ravage forests and peatlands, enveloping cities in a thick, hazardous haze.
Around 3,000 residents gathered in the courtyard of the governor's office in Palembang, the provincial capital, on Tuesday to perform "salat istisqa," a special Islamic prayer seeking rain. The congregation prayed shoulder to shoulder as smoke shrouded roads and buildings, forcing motorists to switch on headlights during daylight hours.
The move comes as satellite data from the Environment Ministry identified South Sumatra as the province with the highest number of wildfire hot spots nationwide, recording 1,429. West Kalimantan followed with 1,226, and Central Kalimantan with 811.
Forestry Ministry data shows nearly 940 square kilometers (363 square miles) were burned across the country in July alone, including more than 20 square kilometers (8 square miles) in South Sumatra.
"We have done everything we can and worked closely with all relevant parties," Governor Herman Deru said before the prayer. "As people of faith, we are also praying to God to send rain so that life can return to normal."
The governor described the public prayer as a complement to ongoing firefighting and drought-mitigation efforts, and a moment for residents to unite in confronting the province's environmental challenges.
Emergency services have been battling fires fueled by an intensifying El Nino pattern and prolonged dry season. The resulting smoke has drifted across borders into Malaysia and Brunei, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.
Authorities are also pursuing technical solutions, intensifying weather-modification operations to induce rainfall by dispersing salt particles into suitable clouds. Thirty aircraft are deployed for cloud-seeding and water-bombing over Kalimantan, with another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.
Police have arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the fires, while four companies face investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land cheaply. Plantation owners and traditional farmers often resort to burning to clear land for farming, triggering hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts transportation, and threatens public health.
Fires are a recurring problem during Indonesia's dry season, and the resulting haze has periodically drawn diplomatic complaints from neighboring Southeast Asian nations.