Forest Fires in South Sumatra Become the Most Extensive in Indonesia

2026-09-19

South Sumatra now records the largest area of forest and land fires (karhutla) in Indonesia. Based on the latest data, the total land affected by fires in the region has reached 402.25 hectares.

This situation has received serious attention from the central government. The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs has issued strict instructions to all relevant parties to deploy full force in efforts to extinguish the fires on the ground.

Extinguishing efforts are being carried out by involving various agencies, ranging from forest fire fighting teams, the military (TNI), the police (Polri), to local communities. The main focus at this time is to localize the hotspots so they do not continue to spread to protected forest areas or residential lands.

In addition to ground-based extinguishing efforts, the government is also considering the use of weather modification technology to assist the extinguishing process through artificial rain. This step is expected to lower temperatures and increase humidity in the burned areas.

The government urges the public to remain vigilant and not to engage in activities that could trigger fires, such as clearing land by burning. Handling these forest and land fires has become a national priority to maintain air quality and prevent adverse impacts on public health.