Kalimantan-Sumatra Fires Keep Air Pollution at Dangerous Levels
Wildfires keep air pollution at dangerous levels in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra, while smoke continues to blanket Palangka Raya.
PALANGKA RAYA, Indonesia — Wildfires are continuing in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra, where air pollution has reached dangerous levels at several locations, according to a report published by Katadata on Oct. 11, 2026. Smoke was still blanketing Palangka Raya, a city in Central Kalimantan, underscoring how the fires’ effects have reached urban communities as well as forest and land areas.
The report provides no air-quality readings, burned-area estimates or count of affected locations. It also does not identify the most exposed groups or describe fire-control measures, leaving the scale and local variation of the emergency unclear.
Smoke reaches communities in Central Kalimantan
A photograph accompanying the Katadata report showed haze over Palangka Raya. For residents, the reported dangerous air quality is an immediate concern because people are living and carrying out daily activities in affected areas while fires continue.
The available information does not include health guidance or advisories from local authorities. Nor does it provide a measurement or monitoring time that would allow readers to compare pollution levels between locations or track changes over time.
That gap matters across a region as broad as Kalimantan and Sumatra. The report refers to dangerous pollution at several points, not throughout either island; conditions in one area therefore cannot be assumed to match those elsewhere.
Extent of the fires remains unclear
Katadata linked the pollution to ongoing forest and land fires but did not specify what caused the blazes or how efforts to contain them were progressing. Without figures on fire extent or location-by-location air quality, the report establishes that the problem persists but does not show how widely it has spread.
For communities under the smoke, that uncertainty leaves key practical questions unanswered, including how local air conditions differ and whether authorities have issued specific precautions. The report offers no further detail on those points.
Katadata said dangerous pollution remained present at several locations as fires continued across parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra. Its accompanying photograph showed smoke still covering Palangka Raya.
