A province in Indonesia turned bright red over the weekend as forest fires continue to burn throughout the country and air quality levels plummet.

The terrifying haze appeared over Jambi province, in central Sumatra, leading residents to compare Earth to Mars.

"This is Earth not Mars. This is not in outer space," one person wrote on Twitter in Malay, alongside a video of the sky.

"We humans need clean air, not smoke."

Ini sore bukan malam. Ini bumi bukan planet mars. Ini jambi bukan di luar angkasa. Ini kami yang bernafas dengan paru-paru, bukannya dengan insang. Kami ini manusia butuh udara yang bersih, bukan penuh asap.

Lokasi : Kumpeh, Muaro Jambi #KabutAsap #KebakaranHutanMakinMenggila pic.twitter.com/ZwGMVhItwi — Zuni Shofi Yatun Nisa (@zunishofiyn) September 21, 2019

Helen Reid of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology told SBS News it was not unusual for skies to appear red after fires and volcanic eruptions, especially during sunrise and sunset. The phenomenon is known as Rayleigh Scattering.

"[It's] the particulates in the atmosphere that scatter the sunlight in a particular way so that it creates a much more red appearance," she said.

"Quite often you'll have a reddish tint to the sunrise or the sunset, particularly sunset, as there's lots of smoke or pollution in the atmosphere and that can create that same effect. It's just more pronounced when you've got the additional smoke from a bushfire."

Di #Jambi sedang menyesuaikan diri dengan kehidupan di mars pic.twitter.com/ZjBfH2mPQU — xakakuyyy (@GanggaAry) September 22, 2019

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), an EU organisation that provides information on air pollution and health, said the air quality as a result of the blazes is as poor as during the 2015 fires, which led to an air pollution crisis throughout South East Asia.

"Smoke from the fires is polluting the air in Malaysia and neighbouring states, threatening the health of the local population as well as the natural forests and wildlife," they said in a statement.

"It is believed the fires have been started deliberately in order to clear land for agriculture, in particular for paper and palm oil."

CAMS senior scientist, Mark Parrington, said it was clear the forest fires were "unusual" and were causing significant concern due to the release of carbon into the atmosphere.

"The very high and persistent levels of pollution in Indonesia and the Maritime continent that CAMS forecasts and monitors are undoubtedly a threat to human health, flora and fauna," he said.

Kiriman dari teman di Jambi. Ini jam 12 siang lho. 😰😭



Ayo lah, berhenti sejenak dari keributan. Ada ratusan ribu nyawa manusia dipertaruhkan #riau #jambi #Kalimantan #BreakoutNET Narnia pic.twitter.com/qEZ9EDLmlY — Rizal Wahid (@Rizalwahid10) September 21, 2019

The head of Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster, Doni Monardo, said 99 per cent of the fires were caused by human activity, largely to clear land for farming.

"The central government is ready to help and support the extinguishing efforts," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

A heavy haze, caused by the fires, has spread across South East Asia and is triggering diplomatic tensions between Indonesia and its neighbours, Malaysia and Singapore. While forest fires are an annual problem, the situation this year has been worsened by drier weather.

READ MORE Frontline fight: Indonesia locked in epic battle against jungle blazes

Last week, Indonesian authorities said they had arrested 185 people suspected of involvement in the fires.

"Indonesian Police will enforce the law against anyone who is proven to have carried out forest and land burning, whether it was done intentionally or through negligence," National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said.

"This is a last resort. The most important thing is prevention."