Peat burning, which can spew massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, were responsible for most of the fires. Emissions from the 1997-1998 wildfires consumed vast amounts of peat and released a total of 0.81 to 2.57 billion tons of carbon into the air. This amounted to 13 to 40 percent of the average annual amount produced globally from combustion of fossil fuels. Susan Page and her colleagues reported that the Indonesian fires contributed greatly to the largest annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration detected since records began in 1957. (2)
The emissions from the Indonesian fires were comparable to the global carbon uptake by the terrestrial biosphere in a typical year, yet they came from a relatively tiny area of the globe. (3)
Now let's jump to the present time.
The second worst year on record for emissions from Indonesian fires was 2015.
Burning forests and peat caused almost 97% of Indonesian emissions. On October 14, 2015, daily emissions from burning forest and peat were 65 megatons (million metric tons). Next closest daily average was China with 30 megatons. US daily average was 16 megatons. (4)
As the haze from the fires swept across the region, schools were closed, sporting events canceled and flights disrupted. Over 300,000 people have suffered respiratory diseases and other ailments. Animals were affected too, with veterinarians reporting more cases of sick pets. (5)
There were over 100,000 active fire detections in Indonesia in 2015, which since September generated emissions each day exceeding the average daily emissions from all US economic activity. (6)
More than half of Indonesia's fires occur on peatland. The burning of tropical peatlands is significant for greenhouse gas emissions because these areas store some of the highest quantities of carbon on Earth, accumulated over thousands of years.
Fires also emit methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, but peat fires may emit up to 10 times more methane than fires occurring on other types of land. Taken together, the impact of peat fires on global warming may be more than 200 times greater than fires on other lands, report Nancy Harris and her colleagues. (6)
Since September, daily emissions from Indonesia's fires exceed daily emission form the US economy 26 days. To put this into perspective, the US economy is 20 times larger than Indonesia's. Emissions from a three week period were higher than the total annual carbon dioxide emissions of Germany.
Emissions from fires in 2015 bumped Indonesia from the sixth-largest emitter in the world to the fourth- largest in just six weeks. (7) This, from an area slightly less than three times the size of Texas.
These data support the case that some events can significantly affect atmospheric carbon worldwide and throw a monkey wrench into most global temperature modeling strategies.
References
1. “1997 Indonesian forest fires,” en.wikipedia.org, January 4, 2016
2. Susan E. Page et al.,”The amount of carbon released from peat and forest fires in Indonesia during 1997,” Nature, 420, 61, November 7, 2002
3. David Schimel and David Baker, “The wildfire factor,” Nature, 420, 29, November 7, 2002
4. “Recent Indonesian emissions far exceed typical daily averages,” junkscience.com, October 28, 2015
5. Jason Tan, “Indonesian fires spread ill wind,”
The New York Times, October 28, 2015
6. Nancy Harris et al., “Indonesia's fire outbreaks producing more daily emissions that entire US economy,” wri.org/blog, October 16, 2015
7. Nancy Harris et al., “With latest fire crisis, Indonesia surpasses Russia as world's largest emitter,” wri.org/blog, October 29, 2015
Indonesia's forest fires have catapulted the southeast Asian nation near the top of the ranking of the world's worst global warming offenders.
First, let's go back in time. Fires in Indonesia that lasted well into 1998 were probably among the two or three, if not the largest fires group in the last two centuries of recorded history. (1)
