Indonesia is stepping up efforts to contain forest and land fires across six priority provinces, deploying cloud-seeding aircraft to induce rain as it works to slow the haze now spreading across the region, officials said. Indonesia is facing a longer and more severe dry season this year as El Nino intensifies, raising the risk of drought, forest fires and air pollution. Forestry Ministry data showed that 107,465 hectares of land were hit by fires from January to June, a 110 percent increase compared with the same period in 2023, when El Nino last affected Indonesia. He said there were signs that El Nino had already reached its most intense level in Indonesia. However, Dana Prima Tarigan of Indonesian environmental group WALHI said that rapid deforestation to make way for palm oil plantations and mines has also contributed to the problem, leaving the land dry and more vulnerable to fires.