Smoke from forest fires in Indonesia’s Papua region is grounding flights, closing schools and drifting into neighbouring Papua New Guinea. RNZ Pacific reported on Friday, 16 October, that haze has reached as far east as Port Moresby.
Indonesian outlets say thick smoke has covered parts of Central Papua. Residents report breathing problems, and PNG authorities are urging people to limit time outdoors.
Smoke blankets Mimika
Papua’s Jubi News reported that thick haze has settled over Mimika Regency in Central Papua. The wind is carrying smoke from fires in Merauke Regency, in South Papua.
Early childhood centres and primary schools have closed temporarily. Their students have moved to remote learning this week. High school students are still attending class, but they must wear masks.
Residents have also reported health problems as the haze worsens, RNZ said.
Flights delayed and cancelled
The Jakarta Globe reported widespread flight disruption across Indonesia. Smoke cut visibility at several airports. Airlines delayed, cancelled and diverted flights.
Papua New Guinea issues a warning
The haze has now crossed the border. Kasis Inape, assistant director of the PNG National Weather Service, warned that the smoke can carry harmful pollutants, The National reported.
Inape urged residents to:
- cut back on long periods outdoors
- keep children and the elderly indoors where possible
- wear masks when heavy smoke cannot be avoided
Where the fires are burning
The fires cluster where land and forest have been cleared on a large scale. Much of that clearing is for oil palm plantations. Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua are among the worst-hit areas, RNZ said.
Papua has seen a sharp rise in fires since August. Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded 2,169 high-confidence hotspots in Papua between 1 August and 2 September, Mongabay Indonesia reported. South Papua accounted for 1,212 of them. Central Papua had 374.
Fire has also struck close to the source of the Mimika haze. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said fires broke out in Merauke on 9 October, Databoks reported. They burned about 63 hectares across nine locations in ten districts. Officials reported no deaths and are still investigating the cause.
El Niño dries the region
An intensifying El Niño is making the fires worse. Dry weather has lasted longer than usual. Indonesia’s weather agency BMKG says El Niño is very strong. It could last into early 2027, Mongabay Indonesia reported. A BMKG forecaster in Jayapura warned that the risk of fire will stay high for several months.
Indonesia is facing its most intense wildfires in 11 years, according to The Vibes. Government data show about 202,000 hectares burned between January and July. Environmental group YKAN estimates another 600,000 hectares burned in August.
Health toll across Indonesia
The health effects reach well beyond Papua. Respiratory illnesses linked to the fires rose to 113,336 by 9 September, up from 50,891 on 1 September, Indonesia’s health ministry said, CP24 reported. Haze has reached more than 12.5 million people across seven provinces.
Al Jazeera reported last month that the smoke was driving a surge in respiratory illness. In Sumatra and Borneo, the haze has also pushed more than 1.4 million students into remote learning, The Star reported.
Papua has felt the same strain. Smoke closed schools in the city of Biak for about two weeks in early September, according to Mongabay Indonesia. Local residents said firefighting equipment was inadequate.
What the authorities are doing
BNPB says it is running “weather modification operations” in West Papua, Tempo reported. The operations include water-bombing from aircraft and cloud seeding to induce rain.
Elsewhere in Indonesia, officials have fired salt flares to stimulate rainfall. Rain clouds have been scarce, Reuters reported. The government has deployed dozens of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Japan has sent three Chinook helicopters and 180 crew to help.
Questions over land clearing
Environmental groups link the fires to land clearing. WALHI Papua says the fires recur each dry season where land overlaps with concessions and high-risk peatland. Director Maikel Primus Peuki links the fires to the Merauke food estate and to drought in Nabire, Mongabay Indonesia reported. Times of Georgia did not find a response from the project’s operators.
Officials describe some fires differently. Papua’s acting disaster management chief said officials suspect arson in Biak. He said crews had brought those fires under control. Residents said the fires were still burning.
What readers in New Zealand should know
Papua lies in the wider Pacific neighbourhood, and Papua New Guinea is a close New Zealand partner. Readers with family in the region, or travel plans to Indonesia or PNG, can check the latest advice on SafeTravel. People with asthma or heart conditions face the highest risk from smoke.
Times of Georgia will update this report as more details emerge. More international coverage is in the World section.
With information from RNZ Pacific, Jubi News, the Jakarta Globe, The National, Tempo, Mongabay Indonesia, Databoks, The Vibes, CP24, The Star and Reuters.
