Jakarta, Aug. 26 -- Indonesia's Forestry Ministry is relying on borewells to secure water for fighting widespread forest and land fires as prolonged drought hampers firefighting operations across parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Agus Yasin, head of public information services at the ministry, said on Wednesday that the prolonged drought had made weather modification and artificial rain increasingly difficult and less effective.

"Cloud formations are becoming increasingly scarce. As a result, more ground personnel are being deployed, making firefighting efforts more effective," he said during an online discussion.

The latest data from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) showed that extreme dry conditions h...