‘Like smoking a cigarette’: Indonesia chokes on haze as blazes intensify amid super ‘El Niño’
Indonesia is facing a severe haze crisis caused by intense forest fires exacerbated by the current super El Niño weather pattern. The thick smoke has led to a significant spike in respiratory illnesses and prompted health concerns across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Why it matters
The recurring 'slash and burn' agricultural practices combined with climate-driven weather extremes pose a major public health and environmental threat to Southeast Asia.
A Manggala Agni firefighter works to extinguish a land fire in Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia, on 15 August 2026. Photograph: Bagus Kurniawan/NurPhoto/Shutterstock A Manggala Agni firefighter works to extinguish a land fire in Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia, on 15 August 2026. Photograph: Bagus Kurniawan/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Indonesia ‘Like smoking a cigarette’: Indonesia chokes on haze as blazes intensify amid super ‘El Niño’ In Indonesia’s Kalimantan, fires have ravaged tens of thousands of acres, with suffocating smoke reaching Malaysia and putting Singapore on alert
Natasha May Tue 25 Aug 2026 00.17 EDT Last modified on Tue 25 Aug 2026 00.18 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google Suwadi can barely see five metres in front of him when he steps outside his home in Indonesian Borneo.
Each breath, he says, feels “like smoking a cigarette”.
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