Peat is essentially an underground carbon vault. When it catches fire, it refuses to go out.
Right now, parts of central Kalimantan in Indonesia are blanketed in a toxic orange haze, forcing millions to breathe hazardous air that has even drifted across borders into Singapore and Malaysia. It's easy to look at wildfire footage and assume it's just trees burning. But the real culprit beneath the surface is peat, and it's a completely different beast than regular timber.
If you've ever wondered why peat fires are so terrifyingly difficult to contain, the answer lies in chemistry, hydrology, and decades of land management errors. Let's break down why an underground peat fire is one of the most stubborn natural disasters on Earth.
What Actually Is Peat
Peat isn't soil. It's a dense accumulation of partially decayed organic matter, mostly dead mosses, roots, and leaves, that has built up over thousands of years in water-logged wetlands.
Because water prevents oxygen from reaching the dead plant matter, it can't decompose fully. Instead, it compresses into thick layers of soggy carbon sponge. Indonesia holds some of the largest tropical peatland reserves on the planet.
Think of healthy peatland as a giant wet sponge sitting on top of the ground. It stores massive amounts of water and traps carbon beneath the surface. When undisturbed, it acts as a natural dampener against fire.
Why Peat Fires Are So Hard To Stop
Normal forest fires burn above ground. Firefighters can douse them with water or starve them of fuel by creating firebreaks.
Peat fires don't play by those rules. They burn underground.
When peatlands are drained for agriculture—often to clear land for palm oil plantations—the water table drops. That soggy sponge dries out completely. Once dry peat catches a spark from an agricultural burn or a discarded cigarette, it ignites smoldering underground pockets of fire.
- No visible flames: You often won't see towering fire walls. Instead, you'll see grey smoke seeping directly out of the dirt.
- Endless fuel: Peat layers can be several meters deep. The fire burns downward, consuming centuries of accumulated carbon layer by layer.
- Water resistance: Dry peat is surprisingly water-repellent. Pumping water on the surface often just runs off without quenching the glowing embers burning meters below.
- Oxygen underground: Root channels and dried pores supply just enough oxygen to keep the slow-burn combustion alive for weeks or months, even through heavy rainstorms.
The Global Consequences of Indonesia Haze
The local health crisis is brutal. Schools close, hospital wards fill up with patients struggling to breathe, and visibility drops to meters. But the fallout extends far beyond Southeast Asia.
When peat burns, it releases trapped carbon dioxide and toxic gases back into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. Indonesia's peatland fires have historically spiked global carbon emissions in bad El Niño years, turning a regional agricultural issue into a major driver of global climate instability.
What Needs to Change
Stopping these disasters requires fixing how we treat wetlands. Spraying water on active fires is merely treating a symptom.
Governments and local communities must focus on peatland rewetting programs. By blocking drainage canals, raising water tables, and restoring the natural moisture balance, the ground becomes fireproof once again.
Until policy shifts match the scale of the crisis, the underground burn will keep returning every dry season.
