The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsPapua blazes defy rainfall relief
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Soldiers, tasked with fighting forest and land fires, celebrate as it rains in Banjar Baru, South Kalimantan, on Oct. 28, 2026, following months of forest and land fires. (AFP/Muda Sagala)
R
ecent rainfall has eased conditions in some of Indonesia’s worst fire-hit areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but continuing blazes elsewhere, particularly in Papua, show that the country’s wildfire season remains far from over and requires sustained prevention and control efforts.
Data from the Forestry Ministry’s SiPongi monitoring system showed that South Papua recorded 103 high-confidence hot spots on Monday afternoon, the highest provincial tally that day. The province remains under a wildfire emergency status until Nov. 28, even as other fire-prone areas report improving conditions.
Recent showers have also reached major fire hot spots, including Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan and Palembang in South Sumatra, bringing local air quality close to acceptable levels.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast moderate rainfall through the first 10 days of November in several regions previously affected by fires, including Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, as well as parts of Papua.
However, the distribution and intensity of rainfall remain uncertain, while prolonged dry spells could still expose vulnerable areas to renewed fires.
Read also: Indonesia’s fires are releasing centuries of stored carbon
El Niño conditions in the Pacific have contributed to drier weather across Indonesia, worsening conditions for fires in forests and degraded peatlands. The prolonged dry season has coincided with widespread reports of fires linked to deliberate land clearing.
