Massive El Niño-fuelled fires spark hazardous haze across Southeast Asia
A severe haze from El Niño-driven wildfires in Indonesia has blanketed Southeast Asia, pushing air quality to hazardous levels and prompting health alerts.
Unusually strong El Niño weather combined with commercial slash-and-burn practices has sparked widespread wildfires across Indonesia’s Sumatra and Kalimantan, generating a thick haze that now covers much of Southeast Asia. Air quality indices in East Malaysia and Singapore have climbed to unhealthy or hazardous ranges, leading to flight disruptions and extended school closures. Monitoring data show more than 1.04 million fire hotspots, scorching around 900,000 hectares, while Greenpeace identified over 6,800 active haze sources.
Medical experts stress that fine PM2.5 particles can cause chronic respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer risks. President Prabowo Subianto labeled the burning “ecological terrorism,” prompting licence suspensions for 26 firms and criminal probes; companies such as First Resources and Kuala Lumpur Kepong deny responsibility. Regional friction has surfaced over the 2014 Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and Indonesian officials have yet to request formal international assistance, even as activists file a class-action suit demanding disaster declaration and state-funded medical aid.
Why it matters
The haze threatens public health and economies across multiple countries, highlighting gaps in regional environmental enforcement.
How this story developed
- Sep 27 Sumatra forest fires blamed for worsening haze over Johor and nearby regions
- Sep 28 A coalition of civil society and indigenous groups has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the Indonesian government of failing to prevent massive forest and peatland fires in West Kalimantan.
- Oct 5 The Department of Environment reported that Malaysia contributed only about 3% of fire hotspots detected by satellite in southern Southeast Asia, with most occurring in Indonesia's Kalimantan and Sumatra.
- Oct 10 Kuala Lumpur and Singapore now record AQI levels that place them among the world’s most polluted major cities.
- Oct 10 The class‑action suit moved to a hearing in Pontianak, where no defendants were present.
- Oct 12 Malaysia's foreign minister said he will raise the transboundary haze problem at the upcoming ASEAN foreign ministers gathering, urging stronger regional measures.
- Oct 13 Updated satellite data reveal further growth in Sumatra's fire hotspots.
- Oct 13 Deputy Minister Syed Ibrahim said evidentiary gaps hinder legal action against overseas firms.
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