blazes that have ravaged Borneo. Rudiyansah, 17, has used his time after school to help douse fires since 2023, but this year he decided to wear the brightly coloured superhero costume at the scorched outskirts of Palangkaraya. While he says dressing as the "Man of Steel" was "just for fun," a video of him spraying water on foliage has gone viral, earning millions of views and the title of "forest hero" from Indonesia's forestry minister. "My honesty, I'm really happy because I can help locals, even though it feels really tiring," Rudiyansah said, noting he wets his costume before entering the fields to prevent it from burning and washes it nightly to keep it clean. His father, Mulyadi, who established the volunteer group in 2020, says this year's haze is the worst the group has seen. At home, he said, "he's like a normal kid," but when Rudiyansah sees his father heading out, he insists on joining. The lack of water is their main challenge, with wells drying up during drought. Between January and July, fires burned more than 200,000 hectares of land — three times the size of Jakarta — already surpassing areas burned during previous El Nino seasons in 2019 and 2023. El Nino, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings drought, increases wildfire risks in Indonesia. Human-caused climate change can amplify these impacts, as warmer oceans and atmosphere provide more energy and moisture to feed extreme weather. The government has deployed additional troops and aircraft to contain fires and smog that has reached Malaysia. Rudiyansah, who dreams of becoming a forest ranger, urged fellow firefighters to persevere: "To volunteers and firefighters across Indonesia, keep up the spirit in the fight against the flames." (Bssnews)