Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Indonesia Wildfires Intensify as El Niño Raises 2015 Fears
Indonesia is having a serious wildfire season.
Very hot and dry weather linked to El Niño is helping fires spread faster, although El Niño does not directly start every fire.
Many fires are burning near peatlands on Borneo.
Peat can keep burning underground for a long time, making fires difficult to stop.
More than 9,000 hotspots were recorded in August.
That is more than in August 2015, but less than the record in October of that year.
The fires have not yet caused as much damage as the huge 2015 disaster.
Indonesia is using aircraft and cloud-seeding to try to control the fires.
Officials have also worked to protect and restore peatlands since 2015.
Indonesia has deployed cloud-seeding and firefighting aircraft to contain fires and smoke in several hotspots, especially across five Borneo provinces.
The country recorded more than 9,000 hotspots in August, above the 5,077 recorded in August 2015 but below the monthly record of 17,302.
Nearly 95,000 hectares of Indonesian land burned in July, almost twice the area damaged during the previous six months.
Indonesian fire emissions reached 17.1 million metric tons over seven days, 429% above the seasonal average and second only to Russia.
Authorities say this year’s damage has not yet matched 2015 levels, when fires were linked to more than 100,000 excess deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
- Who
- Indonesian authorities, including the country’s disaster mitigation agency and forestry officials, are responding to the fires.
- What
- Indonesia’s wildfire season is intensifying, producing thousands of hotspots, extensive burned land and sharply elevated emissions.
- When
- The situation was reported on August 31, with more than 9,000 hotspots recorded during August and nearly 95,000 hectares burned in July.
- Where
- The most urgent hotspots are in five provinces on Borneo island, where Indonesia has extensive fire-prone peatland.
- Why
- El Niño-related heat and dryness are accelerating fire spread, while land clearing, deforestation and degraded peatlands increase Indonesia’s vulnerability.
- August hotspots
- More than 9,000, compared with 5,077 in August 2015.
- July burned area
- Nearly 95,000 hectares of Indonesian land.
- August hotspot record
- 17,302 hotspots were recorded in October 2015.
- Recent fire emissions
- 17.1 million metric tons of carbon emissions in the previous seven days.
- Emissions comparison
- Indonesia’s recent emissions were 429% above the seasonal mean and second only to Russia.
- Borneo risk
- Peatlands can sustain fires underground for longer and at lower temperatures.
- 2015 impact
- Later studies estimated more than 100,000 excess deaths from wildfire pollution across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.