Fires burning since July have destroyed over 800,000 hectares of rainforest in Indonesia, blanketing the islands in thick toxic smoke which has turned the sky a violent red.

The gigantic conflagrations are causing respiratory problems and there are numerous reports of deaths, including at least six farmers and two children.

Air pollution has reached hazardous levels in neighbouring Singapore, where smoke has shrouded the city state.

The Indonesian government has refused to publish an official death toll as a result of the fires, which are largely illegal slash-and-burn operations designed to clear land for agriculture – predominantly for palm oil plantations.

The worsening situation has also sparked a diplomatic spat as Malaysia has lodged an official complaint accusing Indonesia of not doing enough to tackle the fires.

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Last week hundreds of Malaysian schools were forced to close due to the smoke, and the government has distributed half a million face masks.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 20 (NOAA-20) image satellite detected an increase in hotspots with 777 in Sumatra and 363 in Kalimantan – the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo.

The devastating blazes have been exacerbated by a long dry season since June.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo visited one of the burnt forest areas this week and told reporters he had sent 5,600 more personnel to assist in controlling the fires, as well as 52 aircraft to dump water on the areas still alight.

Police have arrested 185 people since the fires started, according to AP. Environmental laws in the country forbid the setting of fires to clear land, and they could each face up to 10 years in prison.

But despite the long sentences, illegal rainforest clearances have boomed as demand for palm oil has grown. More than half of the world’s palm oil was produced by Indonesia in 2018.

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world and is found in everyday food items and cosmetics such as bread, crisps, ice-cream, breakfast cereals, chocolate, shampoo and washing powders. Around 50 per cent of all packaged foods contain palm oil, according to the WWF.

The rainforest clearances have devastated unique natural habitats across Indonesia and also Malaysia, threatening species including tigers, elephants and orangutans with extinction.

Rapid deforestation has occurred in areas where authorities have struggled to prevent illegal logging.

It is estimated numbers of orangutans have fallen by 150,000 across Indonesia since 2002.