Jakarta, July 28 -- The mitigation of forest and land fires (karhutla) in North Sumatra has become a national concern after 61 incidents burned 4,400 hectares by July 2025, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

"Although North Sumatra is not classified as a priority area like South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau due to the lack of peatland, the number of incidents and the extent of the fires are quite significant. This has become our concern," BNPB Head Suharyanto stated at a national coordination meeting on forest and land fire mitigation in Jakarta on Monday.

The agency confirmed that firefighting and mitigation efforts have been conducted, including Weather Modification Operations (OMC), which began three days ago. ...