Hazardous air documented across Kalimantan as fires continued

Air-quality readings and fire reports document severe conditions across Indonesia’s Kalimantan region in 2026. Indonesia’s Health Ministry recorded an air-pollution index of 573 at Jekan Raya in Central Kalimantan on August 26, 2026.

The country’s meteorological agency observed air ranging from very unhealthy to hazardous across Central, West and South Kalimantan on October 8, 2026. The observation covered multiple areas of Kalimantan and followed reports that fires continued in West and Central Kalimantan during September 2026.

The effects also extended beyond the region. Smoke from Kalimantan reached the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers away, during September 2026.

The documented readings provide separate measures of the conditions: a pollution index recorded at one location in August and a broader assessment covering three parts of Kalimantan in October. Fire activity in West and Central Kalimantan was also recorded during September, while smoke traveled across national borders during the same month.

Together, the verified records establish the scale of the haze-related pollution and its regional reach without relying on unverified details about a video report or an on-the-ground correspondent.