Indonesia will scatter 1.5 tons of dry ice from an aircraft over South Sumatra province on Thursday in an experiment to disperse wildfire haze.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said the dry ice is meant to break down haze in the lower atmosphere so that it can rise. He said that if the trial works, it will be extended to other haze centres such as Central Kalimantan.
Indonesia is facing its worst wildfire season in a decade, with an unusually strong El Niño worsening drought. Independent monitor Nusantara Atlas has recorded more than one million hotspots this year, burning almost 900,000 hectares.
Smoke has also drifted to Singapore and Malaysia, where air quality has reached unhealthy levels. Cloud seeding is under way in both Indonesia and Malaysia, and more is planned in Central Kalimantan on Thursday and Friday.
Indonesian police have named more than 200 individuals and nine companies as suspects in connection with the fires.
El Niño years can also affect weather patterns across the wider Indian Ocean region, including Sri Lanka.
