Hotspots in Indonesia, indicators of the forest and brush fires responsible for a choking haze across much of the region, have shrunk to less than half the number two weeks ago, an environment ministry official said on Wednesday.

Most of the decline came from Sumatra island, where sporadic but heavy rain has doused fires set by farmers trying to clear land for agriculture.

Thick haze still blankets areas of the Indonesian part of Borneo island, however.

The haze has affected much of Southeast Asia for months, triggering fears of a repeat of the choking situation that hit the region in 1997-98.

Indonesia's neighbours have grown increasingly frustrated by the fires, most of which are deliberately lit by farmers or by timber and palm oil plantation companies -- some owned by Singaporeans and Malaysians -- to clear land for cultivation.

But recent rains have helped improve the situation, especially on Sumatra island where the haze disrupted air transport in October.

"Hotspots according to our Oct. 31 data are 19 in Sumatra areas and 77 in Kalimantan. In the third week of October we had more than 200 hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan," Purwasto, head of forest fire control at the environment ministry, told Reuters

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