Why Southeast Asia Is Facing a Haze Crisis
· Time
Indonesia is battling its worst wildfires in 11 years, blanketing more than 12 million people with thick smog and spreading haze to neighboring countries.
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Fires across seven provinces on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra have been burning for weeks. Dry weather and drought linked to a “Super El Niño” are making it harder to contain the fires, which occur seasonally in the country often when farmers and corporations burn away vegetation to clear land. From January to July, fires ravaged 202,000 hectares of land, according to government data. In August alone, fires scorched 600,000 hectares of land in August alone, according to environmental group YKAN.
Smoke from the fires, containing soot and tiny suspended particles, has produced haze across parts of Southeast Asia, with humid conditions reducing visibility. Suwadi, a resident of Kalimantan, told the Guardian last month that breathing feels “like smoking a cigarette.”
Indonesian authorities warned that the wildfires could continue through October or early November due to a forecasted late rainy season. The government urged farmers and corporations not to use fire to clear the land, which is broadly against the law. As of Sept. 4, Indonesian police were investigating 112 people suspected of deliberately or accidentally starting fires, and five companies had their licenses suspended over alleged fires. President Prabowo Subianto called for tougher penalties and ordered local governments to abolish exemptions that allowed smallholders to clear small areas of land by burning.
Indonesia has deployed more than 50 aircraft to conduct water bombing and cloud seeding operations over affected regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and Japan sent three CH-47 Chinooks to aid in firefighting efforts. Government agencies and civil society groups have also handed out oxygen cylinders to residents and firefighters in the hardest hit areas as part of the “Rumah Oksigen” or Oxygen House campaign.
Here’s what to know about the haze crisis hitting Southeast Asia.
How does haze affect health?
Haze contains tiny airborne particles about 30 times smaller than a human hair. These PM2.5 particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and sometimes enter the bloodstream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Short-term exposure to haze can cause burning eyes, a scratchy throat, a runny nose, coughing, headaches, and fatigue. It can also trigger inflammation, aggravate asthma, and place additional strain on the heart. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution is associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and premature death. The effects of repeated exposure to haze are still being studied.
Children, older adults, pregnant people, and those with existing heart or lung conditions face greater risks. A 2026 study in California found that greater exposure to wildfire-related PM2.5 particles during pregnancy was associated with higher chances of preterm birth.
In Indonesia, the hazardous air quality has caused a spike in respiratory infections, with 113,336 cases recorded across seven provinces on Sept. 9, according to Health Ministry data. That’s double the number of cases recorded a week earlier. Children aged five and younger made up nearly a quarter of the cases.
Central Kalimantan recorded an air quality index ISPU reading of 1,919 on Sept. 2, indicating an immediate threat to human health. Anything over ISPU 300 is considered hazardous.
Environmental and health agencies recommend limiting outdoor exertion, closing windows, using an air filter at home, and wearing an N95 mask outside.
Pets and livestock also face dangers from the haze. Pet owners are recommended to keep pets indoors as much as possible and look out for coughing, watery eyes, nasal discharge, fatigue, rapid breathing, and difficulty breathing. Flat-faced dog breeds, cats with feline asthma, and pets with pre-existing diseases are more vulnerable, veterinarian Fermandez Francis wrote in Singapore newspaper The Straits Times.
Birds are also especially vulnerable to the haze, according to Francis. Their respiratory systems are more efficient, which also makes them more vulnerable to smoke and aerosols.
Transboundary haze a persistent problem
Transboundary haze has been a recurring environmental and public health issue in Southeast Asia for decades, largely driven by forest and peatland fires in Indonesia from land clearing for agriculture and plantations. Seasonal winds blow dense smoke plumes from Sumatra and Kalimantan across the Malacca Strait and South China Sea to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and in some years the Philippines and Thailand.
The problem has been documented since 1972, and it intensified during the 1980s and 1990s as commercial logging, palm oil cultivation, and peatland drainage expanded in Indonesia. The 1997-98 crisis, amplified by a powerful El Niño, caused more than $9 billion in economic, social, and environmental losses across the region.
Another severe crisis happened in 2015, when drought associated with El Niño fuelled the rapid spread of fires across drained peatlands and forests. Around 2.6 million hectares of land burned between June and October, costing Indonesia at least $16 billion.
The haze improved in recent years with wetter conditions and efforts to restore and rewet damaged peatlands. Regional cooperation and stronger domestic policies in Indonesia have also improved monitoring and accountability for companies that contribute to haze. But enforcement efforts remain uneven, and year-to-year conditions depend heavily on climate patterns.
This year, a strong El Niño and a prolonged dry season have worsened wildfires and the resulting haze. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meteorological office activated its highest alert level for the southern ASEAN region on Aug. 26.
Malaysia recorded unhealthy air quality levels in 40 out of 68 areas of the country on Wednesday. Earlier this month, authorities declared a state of emergency in parts of Sarawak in the Malaysian part of Borneo. Authorities also closed 647 schools across 12 districts of the state, moving nearly 200,000 students to home-based learning.
On Tuesday, Singapore recorded unhealthy air quality in every region of the island for the first time since 2019. Conditions improved on Wednesday and Thursday, although authorities warned that winds could continue carrying smoke over the island.
In Brunei, air quality hit unhealthy ranges in all four districts earlier this month.
The haze also reached the Philippines. Authorities cancelled in-person classes earlier this month due to unhealthy air pollution in Cebu, as well as parts of Manila and Luzon where the government also anticipated heavy monsoon rains.
Super El Niño could lead to food insecurity, civil unrest
The world is facing a so-called “Super El Niño” this year. It is a severe version of the natural climate pattern that typically happens every two to seven years, when surface waters in the central and equatorial Pacific Ocean become warmer than usual.
The stronger phenomenon this year has shifted global rainfall and temperature patterns, exacerbating chaotic weather events, from extreme droughts to heavy floods. Scientists have warned that 2027 could beat out this year as the hottest year on record.
Even though Indonesian authorities say most fires are ignited by people, the “Super El Niño” is worsening fires by making the climate drier for longer. Drained peatlands are particularly vulnerable, as once dry peat catches fire, it can smolder underground for weeks, produce huge amounts of smoke, and reignite after flames at the surface appear extinguished. Without rain, fires also become harder to contain and airborne haze particles aren’t as easily washed out of the sky. Cloud-seeding operations are also less effective as there are fewer rainclouds.
Extreme weather events, commingled with economic and energy shocks linked to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, could also threaten food security and political stability in parts of South and Southeast Asia, according to a report from risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft published on Wednesday.
The consultancy warned that heat waves and water stress are threatening harvests in Indonesia, which is the world’s biggest palm oil producer. Elsewhere in the region, irregular monsoon rainfall and dry conditions are threatening rice yields in India and sugar harvests in Thailand.
Many countries across Asia are also already facing inflationary pressures from the supply shocks in the Gulf. Even if geopolitical tensions improve, the report said that some damage may already be “locked in” because planting and fertilization decisions were made during the peak of supply and price disruptions.
The consequences could be catastrophic for parts of Asia. The report said Afghanistan and Myanmar, already facing acute food crises after years of conflict, could be thrown deeper into humanitarian crises. Countries like India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia could also face civil unrest stemming from economic pressures and food insecurity, the report said. Indonesia already experienced demonstrations over rising food and fuel prices and government corruption when students rallied in Jakarta and other cities in June and August.
“The data suggest,” the Verisk Maplecroft report said, “if food price and availability pressures intensify, and governments are seen to respond ineffectively, unrest and political instability could emerge in these higher-risk markets.”