Southeast Asia is again blanketed with a deadly haze as illegal fires burn throughout Indonesia. The annual scourge has been exacerbated, again, by weather patterns that facilitate the burn and make it more difficult to put the fires out. The result is a thick cloud of smog that has descended on neighboring countries, triggering health and diplomatic crises. As in the past, the government in Indonesia seems unable to control the situation. And, as in the past, regional governments seem unable to spur Jakarta to do more.

Fires are set annually in Indonesia during the dry season to clear land for palm oil, and pulp and paper plantations. This method is illegal, but that has rarely slowed farmers and land owners; blazes are set in remote regions, are not done "officially," and it is often difficult to tell whose land is burning. In other words, establishing responsibility is a difficult, if not impossible, task. And in many cases, the land being burned has peat bogs that can catch fire and then smolder underground for years, unable to be extinguished.

Using fire is a traditional method to clear land, but the smog has become especially difficult during the last two decades. Experts blame rising demand for wood and palm products produced in these areas, as well as changing weather patterns that have made the smog worse. Dry conditions facilitate burning and make it harder to put out fires once they have started. That combination threatens to make this year's smog the worst ever.