Severe Wildfire Haze Spreads Across South East Asia Amid Escalating El Niño

Persistent wildfires burning across Indonesia have generated a blanket of toxic haze, spreading into neighboring Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. The smog has exposed millions of people in South East Asia to severe pollution, with air quality in certain areas reaching acutely unhealthy levels more than 15 times the recommended threshold set by the World Health Organization.

The ongoing fires, concentrated in Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo since mid-July, are being driven by drought conditions linked to a Super El Niño. Indonesia's Health Ministry reported more than 50,000 respiratory infection cases associated with land and forest fires between July and August, including over 12,000 cases involving children under five years old. Local residents in affected regions, as well as communities in the Philippine province of Palawan, have reported symptoms including coughs, sore throats, eye irritation, and headaches. Malaysia has also recorded an increase in asthma and conjunctivitis cases as smoke drifts across its borders.

Environmental and Health Impacts of Peatland Fires

Indonesian forest and peatland fires have a history linked to decades of land-use changes, such as logging, commercial development, and plantation expansion dating back to the Suharto era. Environmental researchers and government investigations indicate that commercial land clearance practices, combined with drained peatlands and oil palm plantations, leave landscapes vulnerable to recurring, uncontrollable fires that dwarf traditional community burning methods.

The wildfires in Indonesian Borneo are burning through major tropical peatland ecosystems. While waterlogged peatlands normally store vast amounts of underground carbon, experts warn that drained or burning peatlands rapidly release stored carbon into the atmosphere. Forestry experts caution that with the Super El Niño expected to escalate, burnt areas could potentially expand significantly, reaching scales comparable to the major 1997–1998 wildfire season. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni stated that efforts to extinguish the fires are entering a critical phase as El Niño reaches its peak.