Indonesia races to contain fires as haze spreads
Authorities have deployed 43 helicopters and 15 aircraft as 107,465 hectares burned from January to June, the Forestry Ministry said.
- Indonesia has intensified emergency operations across six priority provinces—including Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra on Sumatra, and West, Central, and South Kalimantan on Borneo—as wildfires spread rapidly during a severe dry season.
- More than 107,000 hectares burned between January and June, marking over a 110% increase compared to the same period during the last major El Niño cycle.
- Government response teams deployed 43 helicopters and 15 aircraft to conduct water-bombing runs and cloud-seeding operations in an effort to trigger rainfall and slow the regional spread of smoke.
- Schools closed and moved to online learning in severely affected regions, including Pontianak in West Kalimantan, as thick toxic haze degraded local air quality and raised health alarms.
- An intensifying El Niño phenomenon and widespread land clearing for agriculture, palm oil plantations, and mining have dried out highly flammable peatlands, compounding risks as peak fire months approach.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Smoke From Indonesian Forest Fires Has Blanketed the Region, with over 600,000 Acres Already Burned.
Indonesia is scrambling to control wildfires that have already burned more than 600,000 acres, forcing school closures in several areas. Meanwhile, haze is drifting across the border into Malaysia's Sarawak state.
Forest and land fires (karhutla) spread across several regions in Indonesia throughout 2026. Data from the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs recorded that the area of burned land in six priority provinces from January to August 9, 2026, reached 48,889.69 hectares. West Kalimantan was the largest area with 28,680.47 hectares, followed by Riau with 15,551.76 hectares and Central Kalimantan with 3,069.52 hectares. Overall, th…
Observador
Noticias ao MinutoThe country of Southeast Asia is experiencing the beginning of a long and intense dry season aggravated by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
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