Haze turns Indonesia skies orange

Thick haze turned the skies in Indonesia's Palangkaraya apocalyptic shades of yellow and orange on Thursday, reducing visibility to a few dozen metres as wildfires cause a regional air pollution crisis. Fires burning for months in Indonesia have sent smoke across the region. Indonesia experiences wildfires regularly during its dry season, but this year the blazes have been especially severe because a strong El Nino has brought drought.

Indonesia has deployed tens of thousands of firefighters to tackle the blazes, but has struggled to bring the flames under control. Research has found much of the haze comes from fires burning in peatlands. While drought contributes to the fires, experts say deforestation and drying of peatlands has damaged previously fire-resistant landscapes.