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View all search resultsWildfires: All hands on deck
As Indonesia's catastrophic wildfires choke the wider region yet again, the real culprit isn't the unusually prolonged dry weather but the corporate impunity and lax governance fueling the flames.
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Smoke billows from burning peatland on Aug. 26, 2026, obscuring an adjacent oil palm plantation in East Tanjung Jabung regency, Jambi. (Antara/Wahdi Septiawan)
W
arnings about widespread forest and peatland fires during a supercharged dry season due to a "Godzilla" El Nino have apparently fallen on deaf ears. Large parts of the country are now engulfed in flames, harming not only local residents but also communities in neighboring countries.
This year’s wildfires are deemed worse than those during the last two El Nino cycles that also brought prolonged drought to the archipelago.
As of late June, the Forestry Ministry reported around 107,000 hectares of forest and peatland were burned, nearly double the areas affected during the 2018 and 2023 El Ninos. By late July, that figure had spiked to 202,000 ha.
The extensive fires have generated thick haze affecting more than 3 million people in the region, including neighboring Malaysia, forcing school closures and prompting health authorities to warn the public against outdoor activities due to hazardous air quality.
El Nino is often blamed for these disasters, but the weather phenomenon merely increases the risk of fire. Human activity is what usually ignites the flames, which then spread quickly in parched conditions that authorities are overwhelmed.
Environmental groups point to satellite data showing several fires originating inside commercial concessions, including oil palm plantations. They accuse companies of deliberately burning forests and peatlands to clear them for cultivating monoculture crops.
Environmentalists also criticize weak forest governance for allowing these harmful, outdated practices to continue despite numerous regulations banning commercial land clearance by burning.
