In 2019, there were thousands of fires started in Indonesia, most of them set to clear land for plantations that make palm oil. Fires created smoke that disrupted air travel and sickened people.[18] Indonesia environment minister said smog was also from fires ignited from hotspots in Malaysia and Vietnam. Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said more than 3,600 fires had been detected on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo by weather satellites.