World · East Asia & Pacific · 1 hr ago
Indonesia Steps Up Firefighting as Haze Spreads to Malaysia and Singapore
Forest and land fires in Indonesia have produced haze for nearly three months.
The smoke has spread beyond Indonesia to Malaysia and Singapore.
Indonesia says it is using air and ground teams, public information efforts and regulatory changes to respond.
President Prabowo Subianto has directed the military, police, local governments and fire teams to work together.
As of October 10, authorities counted 6,414 hotspots and 195 fires across six priority provinces.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discussed the haze with Prabowo and offered help.
Indonesia is monitoring the fires and assessing how best to put them out, while preparing to create a national agency for peat and mangrove management.
Indonesia is stepping up efforts to fight wildfires as smoke haze spreads to Malaysia and Singapore.
The government says it is using air and land task forces, public education and regulatory improvements.
As of October 10, 6,414 hotspots and 195 fires remained across six priority provinces.
Malaysia has offered assistance, and its prime minister discussed the haze with Indonesia’s president.
Indonesia is preparing to establish a National Peat and Mangrove Management Agency.
- Who
- The Indonesian government, led by President Prabowo Subianto, is directing firefighting efforts.
- What
- Indonesia is intensifying efforts to contain wildfires as haze affects neighboring countries.
- When
- The report was published October 12, 2026; the fires and haze had persisted for nearly three months.
- Where
- Fires were reported in six Indonesian provinces, and haze had reached Malaysia and Singapore.
- Why
- The government aims to extinguish the fires swiftly and minimize their impacts.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The President [Prabowo Subianto] has ordered the TNI, Polri, local governments, including Manggala Agni, and the general public to work together to find the best solutions to tackle forest fires.
We have, for the past several weeks, expressed our readiness to provide any form of cooperation.
Wildfire-fueled haze began affecting Indonesia and spread to Malaysia and Singapore.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim contacted President Prabowo to discuss the haze’s impact on Malaysia.
The disaster agency dashboard recorded 6,414 hotspots and 195 fires across six priority provinces.
Listyo Sigit Prabowo described the government’s firefighting measures at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
- Hotspots
- 6,414 as of October 10, 2026
- Fire spots
- 195 as of October 10, 2026
- Priority provinces
- Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan
- Haze-affected neighbors
- Malaysia and Singapore
- Planned agency
- National Peat and Mangrove Management Agency
Sources
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