Indonesia struggles with hundreds of forest fires, as schools shut

Hundreds of firefighters and military troops have been deployed to the raging forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra to put them out, as air pollution levels in the region surge.

The firefighters are working round the clock across 338 fires detected in Sumatra's Riau province and Kalimantan, between Friday and Sunday.






The fires were caused in part by farmers using the illegal method of burning crops to clear land. Dry and hot weather in Indonesia has only exacerbated the spread of the flames.








In Riau, the air pollution rating reached 364 on Monday morning — well into the hazardous range on the country's measurement chart. Between 200-299 is considered "very unhealthy."

On Tuesday, schools in Riau were ordered shut. They'll stay closed for over a week, until next Wednesday, before the administration reviews whether they should reopen.
Sumatra and Kalimantan are south of Singapore and Malaysia, on separate land masses to their left and right, and the smog drifting over blanketed skies in the neighbouring countries during the weekend.