First rains bring relief to haze-hit Sumatra and Kalimantan

When heavy rain finally swept across parts of Palembang on the afternoon of Oct 24, many residents of the South Sumatran capital did not run for cover. They reached for their phones.



Within hours, videos of rain drumming on rooftops and washing over streets that had been shrouded in smoke for weeks were circulating on X, Threads and TikTok, as residents celebrated a break in a dry spell lasting more than three months.



“Thank God, Palembang finally got its share of heavy rain. I feel like crying,” one X user wrote alongside a video of the downpour, in a post picked up by local broadcaster Garuda TV.



The rain has continued since. “We had pouring rain over the weekend, and this morning it’s lighter rain. I hope it continues,”



Firmansyah, 60, a parking attendant who lives in Palembang’s 1 Ulu area, told The Straits Times by phone on Oct 26.



The downpour offered a hopeful sign that relief from Indonesia’s months-long fire season may be approaching, though forecasters warn that the return of rain will be uneven.