According to local media reports, the Muaro Jambi in Indonesia's Jambi province has seen a very frightening red sky phenomenon since September 21. Judging from the photos and videos taken by locals, even around noon, the sky is a chaotic blood red, and it is impossible to distinguish between day and night, as if the end of the world is coming in the movie. Some netizens complained that "this is the earth under the red giant star?" ”
Local residents said that before, the local sky had begun to turn an eerie orange, and now it has become an even more eerie blood red. The reason for this situation is closely related to the ongoing fires in Indonesia.
Beginning in September 2019, thick smoke began to rise in the forests of Kalimantan and Sumatra in the Indonesian archipelago, and the fire began to spread rapidly. For example, on September 21, nasa satellites flew over Indonesia and observed a large amount of gray air floating over Sumatra and Kalimantan, especially Sumatra, where gray air in some areas was thick and dirty.
Because these islands have a large amount of peat sediment formed by the decaying vegetation of the wetlands, the burning of peat also releases a large number of harmful gases and particles, including carbon dioxide, methane and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at the same time as the fire occurs. Carbon dioxide and methane are powerful greenhouse gases for warm climates, while PM2.5 is a well-known pollutant with negative health effects. According to NASA monitoring data, there is a high concentration of organic carbon in the air on kalimantan and Sumatra.
A significant part of these particles are particles about 0.7 microns in diameter, because their diameter is similar to the red wavelength of the Sun, and it appears red after scattering the sky, a phenomenon also known as Rayleigh scattering. Of course, the blood-red sky is not terrible, and these fine particles themselves are the most dangerous, because their particles are small enough to enter the lungs and blood. Studies have linked exposure to these fine particulate matter to respiratory illness, heart disease and premature death, so many schools in Indonesia have closed, some airports have closed, and harmful fumes have spread to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
Fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra are common in September and October because farmers need to set fires to clear farms and land, such as in Kalimantan, where fires are usually prepared for the cultivation of palm oil palm and paper-making fast-growing forests. It is also true that not only was the fire on September 21 severe, but SINCE THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, NASA HAS OBSERVED FIRES IN THE AREA MORE THAN ONCE.
Fire and smoke on Kalimantan Island on 14 September
Jeffrey Reid, a meteorologist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, said it was historic January and the region was struggling with its biggest fire in four years. He noted that despite widespread agricultural fires in the region at this time of year, recent droughts have made peat soils a more flammable fuel, making burning times longer, and from a current perspective, meteorologists expect the fires to be completely over until there is a lot of rainfall on the island. For the planet, particulate matter and greenhouse gases released by persistent fires are likely to have a profound impact on the climate.