Indonesia's minister warned that the ongoing wildfire situation affecting several provinces nationwide could extend until early November, as the rainy season is expected to arrive later than predicted.
On Wednesday, 16 Sep 2026 GMT+7, Raja Juli Antoni, Indonesia's Minister of Forestry, told local media that the wildfires burning in many areas across the country may persist until early November due to an anticipated delay in the rainy season. He also urged the public to stop using fire for land clearing during this prolonged drought period.
Indonesia is facing its most severe wildfires in 11 years after the "super El Niño" phenomenon caused widespread drought across forests and grasslands nationwide.
The wildfires have raged for several weeks, especially on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Raja Juli had warned since early September that the dry conditions would peak this month, making it increasingly difficult to control the seasonal wildfires.
Most recently, on Wednesday, Raja Juli predicted that the drought would continue for at least another month and a half, as the country's meteorological agency revised the start of the rainy season to late October or early November—about a month later than previously estimated.
"These wildfires will remain with us until October or early November," said Raja Juli, according to the local news website Kompas.com. "Therefore, we urge the public, farmers, and private companies to refrain from using fire during this period of intensified El Niño conditions."
Besides affecting visibility and travel, the wildfire situation has caused many people across seven affected provinces to fall ill with respiratory diseases. The latest figures from 1 to 9 September show cases have more than doubled, reaching 113,336 patients, with the worst impact in West Kalimantan province.
Smoke from the wildfires has also drifted into neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore, lowering air quality to levels considered unhealthy.
Malaysia's government news agency Bernama reported that Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will formally raise the issue of cross-border haze during his official visit to Jakarta from 17 to 20 September.
He stated that Malaysia prioritizes long-term diplomatic cooperation and preventive measures to address the transboundary haze problem. "Diplomatic efforts must be accompanied by technical cooperation, involving officials from neighboring countries and Malaysian states."
Source:cna