Light rains fell Tuesday for the first time in three months in this town on the island of Sumatra, one of the areas ravaged by forest fires and a choking haze.
But the short spell of early morning rainfall did nothing to help visibility or remove the thick odor of smoke. Forecasters predict more rain during the next few days.
Two Australian water-bomber planes were en route to Sumatra to help. One Airtractor AT-802 did a test flight over Jakarta’s Halim airport, sending down a shower of water over a grassy patch near the runway.
An estimated 1.85 million acres of bush and forest land have been burned or are burning on Sumatra and in Kalimantan. The resulting smog has set off health alarms in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei while drifting as far as the Philippines.
