Indonesia drops 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over South Sumatra to tackle haze

Berton said dry ice was being tested as an alternative method to disperse haze by weakening atmospheric conditions that trap smoke near the ground, potentially allowing it to rise and improve visibility.

South Sumatra is among six provinces prioritised by Indonesia for forest and land fire prevention and response, alongside Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, with 189 high-confidence hotspots recorded in the province as of Friday night.

It is also the first Indonesian province selected to test the dry-ice technique, which Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said was being carried out on the direct instructions of President Prabowo Subianto to accelerate efforts to mitigate the impact of the fires.

The operation will be evaluated to determine how effective the technique is at dispersing haze and whether it can be deployed in other affected regions.

The trial is the latest in a series of efforts to find new ways to combat fires that have repeatedly blanketed the region in haze.

Other methods include a suppressant made from cassava flour and a Portuguese powder called Realiza Antichamas which forms a fire-suppressing gel when mixed with water. 

The product has been trialled in South Sumatra and Kalimantan, and would be deployed by helicopter as well as by ground crews, according to Dudung, as quoted by regional media reports. 

He added that the gel did not harm wildlife nor kill plants. 

However, Dudung acknowledged that, while results “were optimal”, the gel was still in trial stages. 

Demonstrations cited in media reports did not establish whether the gel could extinguish fires already smouldering deep underground.