Nearly 1,800 hotspots have been detected by heat-sensitive satellite, 90% of which are forest fires, ranging from the island of Borneo to Maluku in Indonesia eastern Indonesia. In what is known as the "fire season," farmers and companies in Indonesia and some parts of Malaysia clear the land for crops using fire.

"It's very dry and there is no rain, so the farmers in the fields, sometimes illegal farmers and sometimes companies start fires," Forestry Ministry in Jakarta said.  "Every year from June to August is fire season." According to Friends of the Earth Indonesia, they have identified 178 companies of starting fires in Indonesian Borneo and the island of Sumatra.

Indonesia's neighbours have urged Jakarta put an end on its annual fire season because of its negative effects on business and  tourism. The annual practice of  forest clearing burn-offs cause thick haze to cover parts of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia itself. In fact, the Indonesian government has outlawed land clearing by fire but because of weak law enforcement the law is largely ignored.

The forests of Indonesia is home to hundreds of rare and endangered species such as the orangutan, the Sumatran tiger, and the Javan rhinoceros.