Full Breakdown
Indonesia’s “Super” El Niño Fires Spark Record Haze and Prompt Government Crackdown
8/26/2026, 12:34:44 AM
Escalating Wildfires and Trans-Border Haze
Forest and peat-land fires have engulfed Kalimantan and Sumatra, producing a haze that now blankets Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Brunei. Visibility has dropped to as low as 10 metres in some provinces and forced the closure of nearly 600 schools in Malaysia’s Sarawak state.
Background & Context
Indonesia’s fire season peaks during El Niño years. 2026’s “super” El Niño is extending the dry season and suppressing rains that normally dampen peatlands. The slash-and-burn practice for oil-palm and pulp plantations, combined with drainage canals, has turned large swaths of forest into highly flammable terrain.
Data & Statistics
- Burned area: Forestry Ministry data show nearly 94,000 ha burned in July, while satellite monitoring by Nusantara Atlas reports roughly 286,000 ha burned nationwide from January to 24 August.
- Hotspots: The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) recorded 5,102 fire hotspots in August, the highest monthly total since 2015. South Sumatra logged the most hotspots (1,429), followed by West Kalimantan (1,226) and Central Kalimantan.
- Health impact: West Kalimantan’s health ministry reports about 5,000 emergency-room visits per week for respiratory symptoms since July, up from 500 per week earlier in the year. Central Kalimantan saw a 78 % rise in acute-respiratory-infection cases in one week (from 402 to 716). The Ministry of Health estimates roughly 3 million people have been exposed to smoke.
- Response assets: Over 24,000 ground firefighters are deployed. The Transportation Ministry has authorized 35 foreign-registered aircraft for water-bombing; the Environment Ministry operates 30 water-bombing aircraft and 22 helicopters for cloud-seeding over Kalimantan, plus an additional 22 helicopters over Sumatra. Malaysia has secured permission to conduct cloud-seeding in Indonesian airspace along the shared border.
Official Statements & Responses
President Prabowo Subianto pledged to revoke business permits of corporations found responsible and ordered additional helicopters, excavators and pumps to the hardest-hit provinces. He called for “boreholes in fire-prone areas” to ensure rapid water access. The BNPB emphasized that ground and aerial operations—including water-bombing, aerial patrols and weather-modification—are underway and being documented. Malaysia’s Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup announced cooperation on cross-border cloud-seeding and pledged additional personnel and equipment if requested.
Verbatim Quotes
- “If authorities only act after hotspots appear, they will forever be playing catch-up,” — Justin Sentian, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
- “We will go after them if they are proven guilty. We will penalise them according to the law,” — Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Burned area: The 94,000-ha figure for July (Forestry Ministry) contrasts with the 286,000-ha total reported by Nusantara Atlas for the January-to-August period, leaving the precise cumulative loss unclear.
- Hotspot counts: BNPB’s 5,102 hotspots for August differ from the 8,044 reported for the first 23 days of the same month by a separate agency, indicating a possible discrepancy in data collection periods or detection thresholds.
What’s Next
Indonesia has scheduled additional cloud-seeding operations in the coming weeks, with Malaysia prepared to assist under a bilateral agreement announced on 24 August. President Prabowo’s permit-revocation order remains in effect, and investigations into 89 fire-related cases across nine provinces are ongoing. The “super” El Niño is expected to peak in September, potentially extending the haze season into October.
