Each year, as dry seasons deepen and corporate incentives outpace environmental safeguards, Indonesia's burning forests remind the region that borders offer no shelter from shared air. In 2026, fires concentrated in Kalimantan and Sumatra — fed by El Niño conditions and illegal land-clearing — have pushed toxic haze across Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, closing schools and straining the lungs of millions. The crisis is both ancient in its causes and urgent in its consequences: a collision of agricultural economics, governance failures, and the indifferent physics of wind. What drifts across
Indonesian wildfires create toxic haze crisis across Southeast Asia, implicating regional firms
Residents in Kalimantan have endured thick, choking smoke for weeks; school closures affect students across Malaysia and Singapore.
Faces shielded, stepping through air so thick the city had vanished
Mark
So these fires are burning in Indonesia, but the smoke is reaching Singapore and Malaysia. How does that actually happen?
Mimi
Wind carries it. The fires are concentrated in Kalimantan and Sumatra, and the smoke drifts across the region. It's not contained by borders.
Luke
Right, but the scale matters here. We're talking about readings hitting 170 on Singapore's index—that's the worst all year. That's not background smoke; that's a public health event.
Mark
And the fires themselves—are they natural, or are people starting them?
Mimi
People are starting them. Farmers and companies use slash-and-burn to clear land for crops. It's cheap and illegal, but it happens. The dry weather from El Niño is making it worse—the vegetation is like kindling.
Luke
So there's a natural component—the drought—but the underlying cause is human activity. That's important to separate.
Mark
Greenpeace found that some of these plantations are linked to companies in Singapore and Malaysia. What does that mean exactly?
Mimi
It means you can trace ownership. A Singapore company owns a stake in a plantation in Indonesia that's producing haze. The question becomes: who's responsible?
Luke
But we should be careful here. Greenpeace is saying these companies are affiliated with the plantations, not necessarily that they're deliberately setting fires. The fires could be happening on their land without their direct involvement.
Mark
Fair point. So what's the government doing?
Mimi
Indonesia deployed tens of thousands of personnel, cloud-seeding, water-bombing from helicopters. But the fires keep burning. The hotspot numbers keep fluctuating.
Luke
And the court case—is that likely to change anything?
Mimi
It's asking the government to declare this a national disaster. That would unlock resources for recovery. But it's also an accusation of gross negligence against the president and regional governors.
Mark
When will this end?
Mimi
Authorities say early November, when the rainy season arrives. Until then, the haze stays.
The Pulse
- Singapore's air quality hit its worst point of the year, with PSI readings reaching 170 in the central region — deep into 'unhealthy' territory — while commuters moved through streets where familiar buildings had dissolved into orange haze.
- Malaysia shut schools across Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor as pollution indices surged past safe thresholds, with the Education Minister ordering monitoring across all districts and the Prime Minister calling for a regional summit.
- Greenpeace data exposed corporate links between the haze-producing plantations and companies headquartered in Singapore and Malaysia, intensifying pressure on governments that have long positioned themselves as victims rather than participants in the crisis.
- A court in Kalimantan began hearing negligence charges against the Indonesian government itself — including President Prabowo — as civil society groups demanded the haze be declared a national disaster to unlock emergency recovery measures.
- Indonesia has deployed tens of thousands of personnel, cloud-seeding aircraft, and water-bombing helicopters, with Japan and Malaysia assisting, yet hotspot numbers continue to fluctuate and authorities warn the fires may burn until early November.
- President Prabowo has revoked five company permits and frozen dozens more, but whether enforcement will outpace the fires before seasonal rains arrive remains an open and urgent question.
Each year, as dry seasons deepen and corporate incentives outpace environmental safeguards, Indonesia's burning forests remind the region that borders offer no shelter from shared air. In 2026, fires concentrated in Kalimantan and Sumatra — fed by El Niño conditions and illegal land-clearing — have pushed toxic haze across Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, closing schools and straining the lungs of millions. The crisis is both ancient in its causes and urgent in its consequences: a collision of agricultural economics, governance failures, and the indifferent physics of wind. What drifts across a border carries with it the full weight of decisions made — and not made — far inland.
For months, fires burning across Indonesia's Kalimantan and Sumatra regions have pushed a toxic haze into neighboring countries, turning the air into a shared emergency. Driven by illegal slash-and-burn land clearing and worsened by El Niño-induced drought, the blazes are the worst Indonesia has seen since 2015 — and their consequences are being felt far beyond its borders.
In Singapore, the Pollutant Standards Index reached 170 on Friday, the city-state's worst air quality reading of the year. The scale tips into 'unhealthy' at 101; on the streets, commuters moved quickly through air so thick that the apartment blocks they pass daily had disappeared into the haze. Malaysia responded by closing schools across multiple states, including Selangor, which contains Kuala Lumpur. The Education Minister set a threshold of 180 on Malaysia's Air Pollutant Index as the trigger for closures, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for a coordinated regional response among Southeast Asian nations.
The corporate dimension has added a sharper edge to the crisis. Greenpeace released findings linking Indonesian plantations generating significant haze to companies based in Singapore and Malaysia — including Bumitama Agri Ltd and the Kuala Lumpur Kepong Group. The environmental group stopped short of wholesale blame, but called for transparency and proper accountability tracing, arguing that the deeper problem is a system of resource extraction without adequate environmental safeguards.
In Kalimantan, a court began hearing a landmark negligence case this week, with civil society organizations naming ten defendants — including President Prabowo Subianto — for failing to address the disaster. Plaintiffs are seeking a formal declaration of national emergency, which would release recovery and rehabilitation resources for communities that have endured weeks of choking smoke with no relief.
President Prabowo has pledged firm action, revoking five company permits and freezing dozens more. Indonesia has deployed ground crews, cloud-seeding operations, and water-bombing aircraft, with support from Japan and Malaysia. Yet hotspot numbers continue to rise and fall unpredictably, and local authorities warn the fires may not subside until the delayed rainy season arrives in early November. Until then, the haze drifts on — a visible, breathable consequence of decisions made deep in the interior, now shared by millions across the region.
For months now, fires burning across Indonesia have sent a toxic haze drifting into neighboring countries, turning the air itself into a shared crisis. Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei have all felt the weight of it—a thick, choking smoke that has forced schools to close, sent people into the streets wearing masks, and pushed air quality readings to levels not seen in years.
In Singapore, the Pollutants Standards Index—which measures six key pollutants on a scale from 0 to 500—hit 170 in the central region on Friday morning, marking the worst air quality the city-state has experienced all year. The index crosses into "unhealthy" territory at 101; readings above 200 signal "very unhealthy" conditions. Other parts of the island registered between 117 and 166. On the streets, the effect was visible and immediate. Commuters moved quickly, faces shielded, stepping through air so thick that the colorful apartment blocks residents pass daily had vanished into the haze.
Malaysia responded by shutting schools. After Johor closed its schools for two days, authorities in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor—the state containing Kuala Lumpur—followed suit. The country's Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek instructed all state and district education offices to monitor conditions and close schools if air pollution readings exceeded 180 on Malaysia's Air Pollutant Index. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for a meeting of Southeast Asian nations to coordinate a regional response.
The fires themselves have been burning for months, concentrated in Kalimantan and Sumatra, regions where the dry conditions brought by a super El Niño have turned forests and peatlands into kindling. Indonesia is experiencing its worst wildfires since 2015. The fires are started primarily through illegal slash-and-burn practices—a cheap method farmers and companies use to clear vegetation for crops. Authorities have deployed tens of thousands of personnel to fight the blazes, using ground crews, cloud-seeding to trigger rain, and water-bombing from helicopters. Japan and Malaysia have contributed to these efforts. Yet the fires persist. Official data shows hotspot numbers continue to fluctuate, rising again after periods of decline. Local authorities warn the fires could burn until early November, when the delayed rainy season is expected to arrive.
The corporate dimension has drawn scrutiny. Greenpeace released data linking several Indonesian plantations producing significant haze to business entities based in Singapore and Malaysia. PT Damai Agro Sejahtera, affiliated with Bumitama Agri Ltd, a Singapore-headquartered oil palm company, had 29 haze sources detected within its land concession between August 21 and September 11. PT Menteng Jaya Sawit Perdana, part of the Kuala Lumpur Kepong Group, recorded 19 haze source points over six days. Greenpeace called for examination of regional corporate links—not to blame foreign companies wholesale, but to ensure transparency and proper tracing of responsibility. The environmental group emphasized that the root cause lies in landscape mismanagement that enables resource extraction without adequate safeguards.
In Kalimantan, a court began hearing a case this week in which civil society organizations accused the Indonesian government of gross negligence. The lawsuit names 10 defendants, including President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan, for failing to address the crisis. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the haze a national disaster, which would unlock recovery and rehabilitation measures. Residents in Kalimantan have endured weeks of thick smoke with no relief in sight.
President Subianto has vowed to take firm action against corporations found responsible for the fires. So far, authorities have revoked the permits of five companies and frozen the permits of dozens more. Whether these measures will slow the fires before the rainy season arrives remains uncertain. The haze, meanwhile, continues to drift across borders, a visible reminder that environmental damage in one country becomes a health crisis for its neighbors.
Notable Quotes
The root of this entire disaster lies in landscape mismanagement that provides extensive room for activities that extract resources from the Earth.— Greenpeace statement
Regional corporate links need to be examined to ensure ownership transparency and proper tracing of responsibility.— Greenpeace
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