When the peat ignites, the fire can creep beneath the surface and erupt somewhere else, days or weeks later. And, like coal, peat stores massive amounts of carbon, which is released into the atmosphere when the land is burned, cleared, and drained to make way for plantations.
原因很简单：印尼的大火不是典型的森林火灾。印尼的土地富含泥炭——一种变煤过程中的高密度有机物。当泥炭被点燃时，火焰在地表以下蔓延，几天乃至几周后才从另一处喷出。此外，和煤炭一样，泥炭储存了巨量的碳，当土地被焚烧、清理、放干以作种植之用时，这些碳就释放到大气中。