|
|
Article: Rain forests: forests on fire. (rain-forest fires in Indonesia made worse by El-Nino)
- Article from:
- Science World
- Article date:
- April 13, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Last year should have been no different from previous years. Every month, loggers trample into Indonesia's rain forests and cut down acres of hardwood trees. Then they burn the land to clear it for future palm oil and rubber plantations. Heavy rains, which normally arrive in September, douse any lingering flames.
But El Nino, the infamous worldwide weather troublemaker, delayed the rains and brought drought to southeast Asia instead. Parched trees became perfect kindling for hungry flames. So-called "normal" burns turned into wildfires, destroying at least 6 million acres of rain forests in Indonesia.
The fires drove out and killed thousands of ...