Jakarta. Indonesia is expanding its use of satellite monitoring and cloud-seeding operations to tackle forest and land fires, with authorities identifying five provinces as priorities amid worsening blazes in parts of the country.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Chief Kristomei Sianturi outlined the measures during a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, saying the agency was improving its methods for calculating burned areas using satellite imagery to make fire monitoring more accurate and speed up responses to detected hotspots.

“Since my appointment on Oct. 15, we have continued to improve our calculation methods using satellite imagery,” Kristomei said, according to a statement reported on Friday.

The five priority provinces are Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jambi, and West Kalimantan. Kristomei said fire activity had increased in South Sumatra and Jambi, although the rise was not significant.

The BNPB is also working with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to conduct weather-modification operations aimed at generating rain in areas affected by fires.

The operations use dry ice, or solid carbon dioxide, to help disrupt atmospheric inversion layers that trap smoke at altitudes of around 6,000 to 7,000 feet. Authorities hope this will allow the smoke to disperse and sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere, supporting evaporation and cloud formation.

Clouds are then seeded with sodium chloride (NaCl), or salt, to encourage rainfall that can help suppress fires and clear the haze.

Kristomei said authorities had dispersed 3,100 kilograms of dry ice in five sorties since Oct. 20. In South Sumatra, another 800 kilograms had been deployed in a single sortie.

He said the operations had coincided with improvements in air quality and visibility in Palembang, the provincial capital of South Sumatra. Visibility increased from 700 meters to 7,000 meters, while PM2.5 particulate pollution levels declined, according to Kristomei.

The agency continues to coordinate with the BMKG and other relevant institutions to strengthen firefighting efforts across affected regions.

Kristomei also praised military and police personnel, Manggala Agni forest-fire crews and local communities for their efforts to contain the fires.

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