Indonesian fires leave Southeast Asia shrouded in smoke
The number of fire hotspots is falling, but rain remains scarce and the smoke is causing health problems across borders.
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Indonesia remains on high alert because of large-scale forest and peatland fires, even though the number of detected fire hotspots has fallen over the past week. The smoke is affecting neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, while Indonesian authorities warn that new fires could break out.
According to Indonesia’s disaster management agency, there were 565 so-called high-confidence hotspots on Thursday. These are satellite observations where there is a high probability that a fire is present. On 14 October, Indonesia’s monitoring service Sipongi recorded more than 1,200.
The decline does not mean the crisis is over. Rainfall is irregular and still insufficient to extinguish the fires completely. Indonesia’s weather service also expects the rainy season to get properly under way only in November this year.
According to Reuters, the fires have led to hundreds of thousands of cases of respiratory problems in Indonesia. Singapore and Malaysia are also dealing with poorer air quality because of smoke crossing national borders. Poorer air quality alone does not show how severe the health damage is in the neighbouring countries.
Emissions have declined, however. According to data from the European climate service Copernicus, Indonesian fires released approximately 14.44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between 15 and 21 October. In the preceding seven days, the figure was 22.22 million tonnes. Those figures measure emissions from fires; they do not directly indicate how much smoke reaches a particular city.
Indonesia has deployed more than 69,000 firefighters and other emergency workers, compared with about 44,000 in mid-September. In addition, around fifty aircraft are being used for firefighting and weather modification. Authorities are also testing methods involving special chemicals and dry ice, but no independent assessment of their effectiveness is yet available.
The smoke is also creating political pressure. Students protested in several cities on Borneo against the government’s response. Singapore has meanwhile imposed preventive measures under its own law against transboundary haze on a total of ten Indonesian companies. Those notices do not establish that the companies are legally responsible, but they do require them to fight fires on their land and prevent new burning.
The crisis therefore affects climate, governance and regional cooperation alike. Indonesia says it can manage the situation itself and has not declared a national disaster for the time being. Singapore, by contrast, stresses that, in the government’s view, the problem is caused not only by nature but also by land use and companies breaching the rules.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Indonesia is dealing with continuing forest and peatland fires.
- The number of satellite-observed fire hotspots has fallen, but rainfall remains insufficient.
- Smoke is spreading to neighbouring countries and causing regional air-quality problems.
- Singapore is imposing preventive obligations on companies without automatically establishing legal liability.
Left
Arguments The response should strengthen public enforcement, protect residents and restore peatlands. Companies that profit from land use should be capable of being held financially and legally responsible.
Values Public health, environmental justice and the protection of ecosystems carry significant weight.
Consequences Less scope for land burning and stricter oversight could impose additional short-term costs on companies and local communities, but could help limit recurring haze crises.
Centre
Arguments Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia need joint monitoring, firefighting and clear rules on evidence. The government must act, but preventive measures should be distinguished from proven liability.
Values Practicality, regional cooperation and legal certainty.
Consequences A joint approach could make the crisis more manageable, but would require time, funding and reliable data on the origins of individual fires.
Right
Arguments National governments should first put their own firefighting efforts in order and exercise restraint in applying cross-border pressure to companies. Singapore should avoid penalising foreign businesses without solid evidence.
Values National responsibility, property rights and limited government power.
Consequences A more restrained approach protects companies from hasty sanctions, but could allow regional haze pollution to continue for longer if prevention is inadequate.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key facts have been confirmed by Reuters and AP and are consistent with the latest reporting. Health effects and legal consequences have been phrased cautiously where the sources do not provide full substantiation.
- confirmed The number of high-confidence hotspots fell from more than 1,200 on 14 October to 565 on 22 October. — Reuters cites Indonesia’s monitoring service Sipongi. source
- confirmed The smoke is affecting Singapore and Malaysia. — Reuters and AP report transboundary smoke and poorer air quality. source
- confirmed Singapore has imposed preventive measures on ten Indonesian companies. — AP describes the addition of three companies, bringing the total to ten. source
Editor's note
It is certain that the number of detected fire hotspots has fallen, but that the fires and smoke pollution are continuing. The sources describe the public-health consequences in broad terms; there is no current, comparable health measurement for all affected areas.Sources
- Indonesia's fire hotspots ease but rain still not enough, official says — Reuters via MarketScreener
- Singapore expands crackdown on Indonesian companies linked to haze — Associated Press
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