Indonesia's 2026 Fire Season Is Among the Worst on Record
For much of this year, large parts of Borneo and Sumatra have been burning. The fires, many of them lit illegally to clear land for oil palm cultivation, a practice known locally as slash and burn, have combined with an unusually powerful El Niño to produce conditions that landscape ecologist David Gaveau of Nusantara Atlas describes as "trending far higher than 2019 or even 2023." Since January, at least 895,657 hectares have burned across Indonesia, a figure 34 percent worse than the same period in 2019, according to Nusantara Atlas data first reported by The Guardian.
Why Peatland Fires Are So Difficult to Control
The most destructive blazes are burning on drained peatland. Unlike surface fires, peat fires travel underground, resurface unpredictably, and actually intensify when doused with water, producing more smoke rather than less. Gaveau calls the situation "the legacy of 50 years of forest degradation and deforestation." NASA has described tropical peatland fires as an apex predator among fire types, and the data from this season does little to contradict that framing.
The Human and Public Health Toll
The consequences for residents are severe. In Central Kalimantan's city of Sampit, air quality index readings recorded by Swiss monitor IQAir hit 1,142 on September 10, more than twenty times the threshold at which air is classified as hazardous. Every single day in September, Sampit's air has been rated at the worst possible level. The number of people in affected provinces seeking treatment for wildfire-related respiratory illness more than doubled in just eight days, rising from 50,891 on September 1 to 113,336 by September 9. Schools have closed; emergency rooms are overwhelmed.
Ely Marlina, a 46-year-old schoolteacher and volunteer firefighter in Kalimantan, told The Guardian that ash and smoke seep into her home even at night, leaving her family's eyes stinging and causing persistent dizziness. "The physical toll is visceral," she said.
The smoke has crossed international borders, blanketing parts of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and reaching as far as Manila in the Philippines. In response, Malaysia has offered aircraft and personnel to assist firefighting efforts, and Japan has also deployed helicopters and a fire-fighting force.
When Might Conditions Improve?
Experts say the fires could peak this September and continue until November, when the rainy season is expected to begin. Indonesia's forestry minister has described September as a "month of struggle." The government has deployed planes, helicopters, drones, and military personnel, while community groups including a team of female firefighters called the Power of Mama and a volunteer oxygen-distribution campaign called Rumah Oksigen (Oxygen House) are working at the grassroots level. Indonesian authorities are also investigating 19 companies allegedly linked to the fires, and police have arrested 113 people on suspicion of starting them.
Why It Matters for Hosts
Independent operators in Kalimantan, Sumatra, and any destination downwind of active fire zones should treat air quality as a live operational variable right now, not a background concern. Providing guests with accurate, up-to-date AQI information from a reliable monitor, keeping indoor spaces well-sealed, and stocking N95-grade masks for guest use are practical steps that directly affect guest safety and satisfaction. Proactive communication before arrival, including honest advisories about current conditions, will reduce cancellations driven by uncertainty and build the kind of trust that generates repeat bookings. Hosts in unaffected parts of Indonesia may also see increased interest from travelers rerouting away from haze-affected areas; being ready to receive them with clear messaging about local air quality is a straightforward competitive advantage.
The figures and accounts in this post draw on reporting first published by The Guardian, with additional reporting credited to Garry Lotulung. This post appears on the Qontaktly travel blog.
First reported by theguardian.com.