KUCHING, Sept 1 2026: Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has warned that efforts to reduce wildfires ablaze across Indonesia will be challenging as the El Niño weather phenomenon will peak this month.
CCaption: Wild forest fires in West Kalimantan
Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze from forest and land fires across six provinces in Kalimantan and Sumatra islands.
The haze has caused respiratory illnesses and forced thousands of schools to move classes online, including in neighbouring Malaysia.
The "super-El Niño" weather conditions exacerbate the fires, causing drought. Hotspots were reduced across Kalimantan and Sumatra by the end of August, minister Raja Juli Antoni said, quoted by Jakarta Post.
"Our problems are not over. September is the peak of El Niño," he said. "September is the main fight for us."
The haze caused more than 50,000 cases of acute respiratory infection across seven provinces between July and August, health ministry official Andi Saguni said on Tuesday.
Winds blows haze to surrounding provinces and cause infections in places without wildfires, Andi added.
Wildfires burned about 200,000 hectares (494,210 acres) of land from January to July, forestry ministry data showed, increasing from 107,465 burned hectares from January to June.
Raja Juli said the fires were in large part deliberately set, either by individuals or corporations. Despite crackdowns, burning forests to clear land for agriculture and other economic activities has been a common practice in Indonesia.
Kalimantan has vast stretches of peatland where fire can smoulder underground for weeks.
Satellite imaging has revealed that 42 companies hold concessions with high wildfire potential, senior environment ministry official Rizal Irawan said on Monday.
Authorities used weather modification to trigger rain and have "water bombed" areas to contain the hot spots and mitigate the fires, Raja Juli said.
