Fires at the peatland in the district of Kapuas in the Central Kalimantan province on Borneo island, Indonesia.
Peatland soils store a massive amount of carbon. When peatlands are cleared and drained for plantations, they degrade and the carbon they store starts to release into the atmosphere as CO2 emissions. If peat soils catch fire, they can smoulder away below the soil surface, which is exceedingly difficult to extinguish.