Indonesia is using an unusual method to clear the thick haze caused by peat‑land fires. By dropping dry ice from military planes, authorities hope to improve visibility for a few hours, a technique that has attracted attention across the region.

The National Disaster Management Agency leads the aerial operation, concentrating on the airspace around Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport. Military aircraft load boxes of dry ice at a base in Palembang before releasing the material during flight.

Unlike traditional cloud‑seeding, which tries to create rain, the dry‑ice method aims to break up the atmospheric layer that traps smoke close to the ground. By disrupting this layer, the haze can rise and disperse, allowing clearer skies temporarily.

Colonel Pnb Asep Wahyu Wijaya, commander of Sri Mulyono Herlambang Air Base, reported that visibility usually starts around 650 m in the morning, but after the dry‑ice dispersal it can reach between 3,500 m and 7,000 m by the afternoon. Early reports even noted visibility as high as 6,000 m.

Officials said the haze often returns by evening and the operation does not put out the fires below. The dry‑ice flights will continue until 25 October, offering only a short‑term boost to visibility.