Indonesia Faces Extended Wildfire Season as Dry Weather Continues
Forest and land fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan could continue into early November as Indonesia confronts severe drought, dangerous haze and one of its most difficult fire seasons in more than a decade.
Indonesia may continue experiencing forest and land fires until late October or early November 2026, according to the country's Forestry Ministry. The danger is being extended by a prolonged (berkepanjangan) dry period associated with strong El Niño conditions across the region. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, commonly known as BMKG, had previously expected natural rainfall to return around the beginning of October. Updated forecasts, however, indicated that substantial rain might not arrive until the end of October or even the beginning of November, leaving several fire-prone regions exposed for weeks longer than originally expected.
The worst affected areas include parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. One reason fires in these regions can be exceptionally difficult to extinguish is the presence of extensive peatland (lahan gambut), where layers of partially decomposed vegetation can be several metres deep. When peat dries, fire can move below the surface rather than remaining visible above ground. These underground fires may continue burning for long periods, sometimes reappearing after firefighters appear to have controlled the flames at the surface.
Indonesia's fires are not only a domestic environmental problem because smoke can travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres. During severe fire periods, transboundary (lintas batas) haze can spread from Indonesia toward Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and other parts of Southeast Asia. In September 2026, smoke from Indonesian fires was reported beyond the country's borders, increasing concerns about regional air quality. Because wind direction changes from day to day, communities far from the original fires can sometimes experience high pollution levels even when no large fire is burning nearby.
The health consequences have been particularly serious in Indonesian provinces affected by dense smoke. Thousands of additional respiratory (pernapasan) illnesses were recorded as air quality deteriorated, including cases involving coughing, sore throats and difficulty breathing. Reuters reported that more than 113,000 respiratory illness cases were recorded between September 1 and September 9 across seven affected provinces, more than double the number recorded at the beginning of that period. West Kalimantan was among the areas experiencing particularly severe conditions, while millions of people across the affected provinces were exposed to wildfire haze.
Authorities have therefore warned residents, companies and farmers to remain prepared for continued fire danger. The Forestry Ministry called for particular vigilance (kewaspadaan) until the return of regular rainfall because dry vegetation can allow relatively small fires to spread rapidly. The warning is especially relevant to agricultural areas where fire has traditionally been used to clear vegetation before planting. Officials have repeatedly urged individuals and companies not to use burning as a land-clearing technique during the current period of extreme dryness.
Indonesia has deployed extensive resources to fight the fires from both the ground and the air. Aerial fire suppression (pemadaman) operations have included dozens of aircraft used for water bombing and weather-modification activities in priority provinces. Aircraft can repeatedly collect water from suitable sources and release it above active fires, particularly in places that are difficult for ground crews to reach. Thousands of personnel have also participated in operations involving the military, police, regional authorities, firefighters and other government agencies.
Firefighters face a different problem when dealing with burning peat rather than ordinary vegetation. Peat can smolder (membara) underground without producing the large visible flames normally associated with a forest fire. Simply spraying the surface may therefore fail to reach the burning material beneath it. Authorities in Kalimantan have used specialized techniques to introduce water deeper into affected peat areas, while firefighting teams sometimes need large quantities of water over extended periods before an underground fire is completely extinguished.
Indonesia is also using weather modification in an effort to reduce fire risk and support firefighting operations. One technique is commonly called cloud seeding (penyemaian awan), in which suitable clouds are treated with substances intended to encourage rainfall under appropriate atmospheric conditions. Indonesia has used this method for years during periods of severe drought, wildfire danger and water shortages. It cannot create rain without appropriate clouds and atmospheric moisture, so its effectiveness depends heavily on existing weather conditions.
Authorities monitor potential fire activity partly through satellite observations. A hotspot (titik panas) is an area where satellite instruments detect unusually high surface temperatures that may indicate a fire, although a detected hotspot does not automatically prove that a major wildfire is occurring. During August 2026, thousands of hotspots were detected across Indonesia as conditions became exceptionally dry. Forestry officials use such observations alongside information from aircraft, local authorities and ground teams to determine where firefighting resources should be concentrated.
The expected return of rain is therefore an important factor in determining when the fire season will finally ease. Regular precipitation (curah hujan) increases moisture in vegetation and peat, making both much more difficult to ignite and helping extinguish existing fires. BMKG's revised forecast pushed the expected arrival of substantial natural rainfall from early October toward late October or early November. Until those wetter conditions develop consistently, officials expect the risk of new fires to remain significant in vulnerable regions.
Human activity is another major component of Indonesia's recurring wildfire problem. One controversial practice is slash-and-burn (tebang dan bakar) land clearing, in which existing vegetation is cut and then burned to prepare land for agricultural use. Fire is inexpensive compared with mechanical land clearing, but during a severe drought it can escape the intended area and spread into surrounding vegetation or peat. Indonesian authorities have increased investigations into suspected deliberate or negligent burning during the 2026 fire season, including cases involving both individuals and companies.
Indonesia has experienced destructive wildfire seasons before, making the current situation particularly significant. The country suffered an exceptionally serious crisis in 2015, when drought and widespread peat fires created months of haze across parts of Southeast Asia. Since then, fire prevention and mitigation (mitigasi) have included peat restoration, monitoring, restrictions on burning and increased use of firefighting aircraft. By August 2026, however, unusually dry conditions had again produced one of the country's most serious wildfire seasons in more than a decade, demonstrating how strongly weather conditions can affect the effectiveness of preventive measures.
International assistance has supplemented Indonesia's domestic firefighting capacity. Japan sent three CH-47 Chinook helicopters together with approximately 180 personnel to support operations in West Kalimantan, one of the provinces most affected by the fires. The large helicopters provided additional aerial (udara) firefighting capacity and were scheduled to participate in water-bombing operations after arriving in Pontianak. Indonesia was already operating more than 50 aircraft for firefighting and weather-modification activities, illustrating the scale of resources required when fires are distributed across several large islands.
The situation also has practical consequences for people traveling through Indonesia. Dense smoke can reduce visibility (jarak pandang) on roads and around airports, while poor air quality can make outdoor activities uncomfortable or unsuitable, particularly for children, older people and travelers with respiratory conditions. Visitors traveling to Sumatra or Kalimantan during severe fire periods should therefore pay attention to local air-quality information and weather conditions rather than assuming that conditions are similar across the entire country. Indonesia is geographically enormous, so serious haze in one province does not necessarily mean that destinations thousands of kilometres away are experiencing the same conditions.
For Indonesian-language learners, the wildfire situation also introduces several expressions frequently encountered in local news. The Indonesian abbreviation karhutla, for example, comes from kebakaran hutan dan lahan, meaning forest and land fires, and appears constantly in government announcements and news reports during the dry season. Understanding environmental terminology (istilah) such as kabut asap for haze, titik panas for hotspot, lahan gambut for peatland and pemadaman for firefighting makes Indonesian reporting on natural disasters considerably easier to follow. These terms are also useful for travelers because they frequently appear in weather warnings, local news reports and public information during periods of elevated fire danger.
Key Indonesian Vocabulary
berkepanjangan prolonged
lahan gambut peatland
lintas batas transboundary
pernapasan respiratory
kewaspadaan vigilance
pemadaman suppression
membara smolder
penyemaian awan cloud seeding
titik panas hotspot
curah hujan precipitation
tebang dan bakar slash-and-burn
mitigasi mitigation
udara aerial
jarak pandang visibility
istilah terminology
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