Indonesia’s prolonged wildfires affect regional air quality
Since late July 2026, wildfires burning across Indonesia’s forests, agricultural land and peatlands have released large quantities of smoke, affecting air quality across the country and in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), emissions from wildfires in Indonesia from January to September 2026 were among the highest of the past 24 years.
In this image from the CAMS Fire Emissions Watch App, CAMS forecast data for 20 October 2026 at 09:00 UTC shows a vast plume of smoke across the region. The darkest purple areas mark the densest smoke over southern Sumatra, southern Kalimantan and southern New Guinea. Lighter pink shades show thinner smoke extending over the Indian Ocean, mainland South-East Asia and the western Pacific.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service provides near-real-time monitoring and forecasting of atmospheric composition, which helps track the dispersion of smoke from wildfires and inform public health advice.
