PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02:  A firefighter holds a water pipe as they extinguish the fire on burned peatland and fields at Sungai Rambutan village, Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels.  (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02: A firefighter holds a water pipe as they extinguish the fire on burned peatland and fields at Sungai Rambutan village, Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A Country Burns, a Region Chokes

Photos of the fallout from Indonesia’s man-made fires, which destroy the rainforest, sicken hundreds of thousands, and burn again each year like clockwork.

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Indonesian police and firefighters extinguish a fire on burning peat land in the district of Kapuas in the Central Kalimantan province on Borneo island during President Joko Widodo's inspection of a firefighting operation to control agricultural and forest fires on September 24, 2015. Under pressure from its neighbours to stop the annual haze, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has pledged to crack down on companies and individuals behind the burnings, which are a cheap but harmful way of clearing vast tracts of land for plantations. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD        (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Indonesian police and firefighters extinguish a fire on burning peat land in the district of Kapuas in the Central Kalimantan province on Borneo island during President Joko Widodo's inspection of a firefighting operation to control agricultural and forest fires on September 24, 2015. Under pressure from its neighbours to stop the annual haze, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has pledged to crack down on companies and individuals behind the burnings, which are a cheap but harmful way of clearing vast tracts of land for plantations. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Every year, like clockwork, between June and November, a hazardous haze settles over swaths of Southeast Asia.

The haze originates in smoldering peatland wildfires on islands in Indonesia. Born of illegal slash-and-burn agricultural practices on palm oil and paper plantations, the fires can burn for months and are stanched for good only by seasonal downpours. Meanwhile, they spread pollution that turns the air a sickly sepia, and make it dangerous to breathe.

This year has been no exception. Drought conditions on the islands have produced an even worse than usual haze season: Half a million people have reported acute respiratory infections since July 1 in affected areas. A spokesman for Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency called the haze “a crime against humanity.”

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday in Washington — the leader’s first official visit to the United States. He was slated to visit California on Wednesday to meet with Apple’s Tim Cook and other tech leaders but said he would cut short that leg of the trip due to the haze crisis, which has gotten even worse over the past two days. Indonesia is preparing for a mammoth government push to assist people in the worst-hit area, potentially evacuating thousands of babies and young children in Borneo and Sumatra. The United States has pledged $2.75 million in assistance.

Indonesia has laws against land clearing by fire, but the practice is rampant and has proven nearly impossible to eradicate in provinces like Riau, in Sumatra, where plantations provide wealth and employment and where local corruption makes the law difficult to enforce.

Jokowi has promised to rein in the haze but says he needs more time. The fires, which often burn unchecked in remote forested areas, are difficult to fight because they burn underground in flammable peat soil as well as above the surface. Environmental activists have recorded extensive destruction this year in some of the world’s most biodiverse, endangered rainforest ecosystems. Indonesia has the third-largest primary rainforests in the world, after Brazil and Congo, and deforestation is proceeding at a faster rate in Indonesia than anywhere else. Over the years, companies like Asia Pulp and Paper that have provided products to Staples, Disney, and other U.S. corporations have faced criticism for their role in perpetrating the haze and destroying some of the final remaining habitats for Indonesia’s tigers and orangutans.

Beyond Indonesia, the haze has a long history of impact on Singapore — separated from Sumatra by the narrow Strait of Malacca — which for more than 40 years has been periodically blanketed by smog, forcing business and school closures. This year, winds have swept the haze into Malaysia, which shares a land border with Indonesia on the island of Borneo, and Thailand, a few hundred miles to the north, as well. The FINA Swimming World Cup in Singapore and a marathon in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, were both canceled, and regional officials have been highly critical of Indonesia’s response to the crisis. Earlier this month, Jokowi announced he would accept international firefighting aid, and Singapore was quick to provide aircraft. Australia, China, Malaysia, Russia, and South Korea have pitched in as well.

However, it is still Indonesians — mostly in Sumatra and Borneo — who feel the harshest impact of the haze emerging in smokey plumes from their backyards. And many Indonesians, including environmental activists, argue that their neighboring countries shouldn’t be so quick to blame Indonesia for the problem because they share culpability. “Of course all the fires are coming from Indonesia, but Singapore is enjoying the ‘deforestation economy’ of Indonesia as a financial center,” Bustar Maitar, the global leader of the Indonesia Forest Campaign at Greenpeace, told the New York Times, “and there are many Malaysian palm oil companies operating in Indonesia, and Singaporean companies are there as well.”

At times, fires have burned at well over 1,000 hotspots. This month, Riau began evacuating babies younger than six months old, due to their particular sensitivity to air quality. Earlier this month, Republika, a large Indonesian newspaper, drew attention to the issue by hazing out its front page to the point of near illegibility, with the headline: “Student Victims of Haze Forced to Go to School,” and the caption, "When covered with smoke, all the news becomes difficult to read.”

With monsoons due in November, the hazy season will soon give way to the rainy season. But without changes in the way companies pursue wealth in Indonesia, the annual haze-ing ritual will continue.

Above, Indonesian police and firefighters blast water onto the fires burning in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, on Sept. 24.

ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images
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A motorcyclist travels through the haze on a road in Palemband, Sumatra, on Sept. 30.

ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images
A villager tries to extinguish a peatland fire on the outskirts of Palangkaraya city, Central Kalimantan on October 26, 2015. For nearly two months, thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn farming in Indonesia have choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia, forcing schools to close and scores of flights and some international events to be cancelled. AFP PHOTO / Bay ISMOYO        (Photo credit should read BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)
A villager tries to extinguish a peatland fire on the outskirts of Palangkaraya city, Central Kalimantan on October 26, 2015. For nearly two months, thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn farming in Indonesia have choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia, forcing schools to close and scores of flights and some international events to be cancelled. AFP PHOTO / Bay ISMOYO (Photo credit should read BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

A villager tries to extinguish a peatland fire on the outskirts of Palangkaraya, a city in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, on Oct. 26.

BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo inspects a peatland clearing that was engulfed by fire during an inspection of a firefighting operation to control agricultural and forest fires in Banjar Baru in Southern Kalimantan province on Borneo island on September 23, 2015. Indonesia has revoked the licence of a timber supplier and suspended the operations of three palm oil plantation operators over fires that have blanketed Southeast Asia in haze, while President Widodo has pledged this year that law-breakers will be punished. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD        (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo inspects a peatland clearing that was engulfed by fire during an inspection of a firefighting operation to control agricultural and forest fires in Banjar Baru in Southern Kalimantan province on Borneo island on September 23, 2015. Indonesia has revoked the licence of a timber supplier and suspended the operations of three palm oil plantation operators over fires that have blanketed Southeast Asia in haze, while President Widodo has pledged this year that law-breakers will be punished. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo inspects a burned expanse of peatland in Southern Kalimantan, Borneo, on Sept. 23.

ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02:  A man carries his son as he walks through the haze on the way to his house as a fire burned peatland and fields at Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels.  (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02: A man carries his son as he walks through the haze on the way to his house as a fire burned peatland and fields at Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A man carries his son as they pass by fires on the way to their house in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 2.

ULET IFANSASTI/Getty Images
An Indonesian teacher (C) and her students wear face masks to protect against air pollution in Palembang, South Sumatra province, on October 8, 2015. Indonesia agreed on October 8 to accept international help to combat forest and agricultural fires cloaking Southeast Asia in haze, after weeks of failed attempts to douse the blazes that have infuriated its neighbours. AFP PHOTO / Abdul QODIR        (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)
An Indonesian teacher (C) and her students wear face masks to protect against air pollution in Palembang, South Sumatra province, on October 8, 2015. Indonesia agreed on October 8 to accept international help to combat forest and agricultural fires cloaking Southeast Asia in haze, after weeks of failed attempts to douse the blazes that have infuriated its neighbours. AFP PHOTO / Abdul QODIR (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)

An Indonesian teacher and her students wear face masks to filter out pollution in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 8.

ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images
People play badminton while wearing face masks in the grounds of the An-Nur Great Mosque as haze shrouds the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru, in Riau province on September 13, 2015. Smog from forest fires in Indonesia last week prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, while pushing air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.    AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY        (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)
People play badminton while wearing face masks in the grounds of the An-Nur Great Mosque as haze shrouds the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru, in Riau province on September 13, 2015. Smog from forest fires in Indonesia last week prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, while pushing air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

People play badminton while wearing face masks in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau, one of the worst-hit provinces in Sumatra, on Sept. 13.

ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
A Singaporean Chinook helicopter arrives at the Talang Betutu air force base in Palembang, in Indonesia's South Sumatra province, on October 10, 2015 as part of their efforts to help Indonesia combat forest fires causing a choking haze that has engulfed the region.  Planes from Malaysia and Singapore have arrived and will soon begin water-bombing hard-hit South Sumatra province, said a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency. The Chinook, capable of pouring water from a huge hanging bucket, and a Hercules C-130 carrying 42 firefighters, arrived from Singapore after being delayed due to poor visibility.   AFP PHOTO / Abdul QODIR        (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)
A Singaporean Chinook helicopter arrives at the Talang Betutu air force base in Palembang, in Indonesia's South Sumatra province, on October 10, 2015 as part of their efforts to help Indonesia combat forest fires causing a choking haze that has engulfed the region. Planes from Malaysia and Singapore have arrived and will soon begin water-bombing hard-hit South Sumatra province, said a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency. The Chinook, capable of pouring water from a huge hanging bucket, and a Hercules C-130 carrying 42 firefighters, arrived from Singapore after being delayed due to poor visibility. AFP PHOTO / Abdul QODIR (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)

A Singaporean Chinook helicopter, capable of pouring water from a huge hanging bucket, arrives at an air force base in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 10, as part of a joint regional effort to tamp down Indonesia's fires.

ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images
Indonesian people pray in Pekanbaru on September 15, 2015. Indonesia on September 14, declared a state of emergency in a province choked with thick haze from forest fires, as fears mounted that worsening air quality could affect the upcoming Grand Prix in neighbouring Singapore. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY        (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)
Indonesian people pray in Pekanbaru on September 15, 2015. Indonesia on September 14, declared a state of emergency in a province choked with thick haze from forest fires, as fears mounted that worsening air quality could affect the upcoming Grand Prix in neighbouring Singapore. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesians praying in Pekanbaru on Sept. 15.

ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
More than a hundred local and foreign cyclists race through Solok town covered with a blanket of haze in West Sumatra province located in Sumatra island on October 6, 2015  during the fourth stage of Indonesia's annual 10-day Tour de Singkarak race. Cyclists navigated a scenic race course blanketed by haze from raging agricultural and forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra island.  AFP PHOTO         (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
More than a hundred local and foreign cyclists race through Solok town covered with a blanket of haze in West Sumatra province located in Sumatra island on October 6, 2015 during the fourth stage of Indonesia's annual 10-day Tour de Singkarak race. Cyclists navigated a scenic race course blanketed by haze from raging agricultural and forest fires in Indonesia's Sumatra island. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Cyclists race through a town in West Sumatra on Oct. 6, as they compete in Indonesia's annual Tour de Singkarak.

STR/AFP/Getty Images
A participant dressed as spiderman for the Pink 2015 Ribbon Walk, which was cancelled due to the haze, poses on a railing in Singapore on October 3, 2015. Malaysia, Singapore and large expanses of Indonesia have suffered for weeks from acrid smoke billowing from fires on Indonesian plantations and peatlands that are being illegally cleared by burning.  AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN        (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
A participant dressed as spiderman for the Pink 2015 Ribbon Walk, which was cancelled due to the haze, poses on a railing in Singapore on October 3, 2015. Malaysia, Singapore and large expanses of Indonesia have suffered for weeks from acrid smoke billowing from fires on Indonesian plantations and peatlands that are being illegally cleared by burning. AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A man dressed as spiderman, who was set to participate in Singapore's Pink Ribbon Walk for breast cancer, which was cancelled due to the haze, hangs from a railing on Oct. 3.

ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images
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A man splashes water on a fire near his house in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 3.

ULET IFANSASTI/Getty Images
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02:  A firefighter holds a water pipe as they extinguish the fire on burned peatland and fields at Sungai Rambutan village, Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels.  (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02: A firefighter holds a water pipe as they extinguish the fire on burned peatland and fields at Sungai Rambutan village, Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A firefighter repositions a hose as he and others put out fires near a village near Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 2.

ULET IFANSASTI/Getty Images
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02:  Indonesian soldiers extinguish the fire on burned peatland and fields at Sungai Rambutan village, Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels.  (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA - OCTOBER 02: Indonesian soldiers extinguish the fire on burned peatland and fields at Sungai Rambutan village, Ogan Ilir district on October 2, 2015 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The air pollution or haze has been an annual problem for the past 18 years in Indonesia. It's caused by the illegal burning of forest and peat fires on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo to clear new land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil. Singapore and Malaysia have offered to help the Indonesian government to fight against the fires, as infants and their mothers are evacuated to escape the record pollution levels. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Indonesian soldiers hose off smoldering peatland outside a village in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Oct. 2.

ULET IFANSASTI/Getty Images
A crew member of a Kamov helicopter operated by Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency checks a water bombing operation at a concession area in Pelalawan, Riau province on September 17, 2015. Southeast Asia has been enveloped in choking haze from agricultural fires in Indonesia over the past fortnight, prompting flight cancellations, closing schools and raising fears this weekend's glitzy Formula One night race in Singapore could be affected. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY        (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)
A crew member of a Kamov helicopter operated by Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency checks a water bombing operation at a concession area in Pelalawan, Riau province on September 17, 2015. Southeast Asia has been enveloped in choking haze from agricultural fires in Indonesia over the past fortnight, prompting flight cancellations, closing schools and raising fears this weekend's glitzy Formula One night race in Singapore could be affected. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

A member of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency checks on the progress of a water-bombing operation in Pelalawan, Riau, on Sept. 17.

ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
A woman and young boy walk past the An-Nur Great Mosque as haze shrouds the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru, in Riau province on September 13, 2015. Smog from forest fires in Indonesia last week prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, while pushing air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.    AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY        (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman and young boy walk past the An-Nur Great Mosque as haze shrouds the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru, in Riau province on September 13, 2015. Smog from forest fires in Indonesia last week prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, while pushing air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY (Photo credit should read ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman and young boy walking through Pekanbaru, Sumatra, on Sept. 13.

ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
Malaysian children play in a river as schools remain closed due to hazy conditions in Hulu Langat on October 6, 2015. Malaysia, Singapore and large expanses of Indonesia have suffered for weeks from acrid smoke billowing from fires on Indonesian plantations and peatlands that are being illegally cleared by burning. The regional environmental crisis has caused flights and major events to be cancelled, and forced tens of thousands of people in the region to seek medical treatment for respiratory problems. AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN        (Photo credit should read MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Malaysian children play in a river as schools remain closed due to hazy conditions in Hulu Langat on October 6, 2015. Malaysia, Singapore and large expanses of Indonesia have suffered for weeks from acrid smoke billowing from fires on Indonesian plantations and peatlands that are being illegally cleared by burning. The regional environmental crisis has caused flights and major events to be cancelled, and forced tens of thousands of people in the region to seek medical treatment for respiratory problems. AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN (Photo credit should read MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Malaysian children play in a river as schools remain closed due to hazy conditions in Hulu Langat, near the capital of Kuala Lumpur, on Oct. 6.

An Indonesian firefighter combats the fire at Ogan Kemering Ilir, in South Sumatra, on September 12, 2015. Smog from forest fires in Indonesia has prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, while pushing air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. AFP PHOTO / Abdul QODIR        (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)
An Indonesian firefighter combats the fire at Ogan Kemering Ilir, in South Sumatra, on September 12, 2015. Smog from forest fires in Indonesia has prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, while pushing air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. AFP PHOTO / Abdul QODIR (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)

A firefighter stands amid a raging fire in South Sumatra on Sept. 12.

ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images
A helicopter conducts a water bombing operation to extinguish a fire in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on September 3, 2015.  AFP PHOTO / ABDUL QODIR        (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)
A helicopter conducts a water bombing operation to extinguish a fire in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on September 3, 2015. AFP PHOTO / ABDUL QODIR (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)

A helicopter carries a bucket of water over South Sumatra on Sept. 3.

ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images
Indonesian fire fighters put out a fire in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra on September 5, 2015. Haze across much of Southeast Asia mostly comes from forest fires on Indonesia's western island of Sumatra, many of which are deliberately lit to clear land for plantations. AFP PHOTO / ABDUL QODIR        (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)
Indonesian fire fighters put out a fire in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra on September 5, 2015. Haze across much of Southeast Asia mostly comes from forest fires on Indonesia's western island of Sumatra, many of which are deliberately lit to clear land for plantations. AFP PHOTO / ABDUL QODIR (Photo credit should read ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images)

Firefighters combat a fire in South Sumatra on Sept. 5.

ABDUL QODIR/AFP/Getty Images
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