Malaysia, Indonesia to synchronise haze suppression ops as monsoon and El Niño converge

Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to enhance their efforts in combating cross-border haze pollution, aiming to maintain good air quality, particularly as the country prepares for National Day and Malaysia Day festivities. This commitment came about during a phone conversation between Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister, Arthur Joseph Kurup, and Indonesia's Environment Minister, Jumhur Hidayat.

According to Arthur, given the anticipated intensification of the El Niño phenomenon towards October 2026, which coincides with the Southwest Monsoon season, both nations are determined to intensify their preventative and early suppression measures.

The 69th National Day celebration is scheduled for August 31 at Dataran Putrajaya, while Malaysia Day festivities will be held in Kuching, Sarawak, on September 16. Arthur expressed gratitude to Indonesia for granting official approval for cloud seeding operations across its airspace, aimed at tackling areas along the shared border.

He informed that the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) are preparing a schedule to coordinate these operations with Indonesian Armed Forces Commander. Arthur also reiterated Malaysia's readiness to offer assistance in extinguishing fires, should the need arise, subject to Cabinet approval.

Malaysia acknowledges and supports the proactive measures taken by the Indonesian government, led by President Prabowo, to enhance forest and land fire mitigation strategies. These measures include the recruitment of an additional 1,500 Indonesian National Armed Forces personnel, deployment of high-capacity helicopters for water bombing missions, and robust execution of weather modification operations in the field.

Arthur highlighted that the National Resources and Environmental Sustainability Department, alongside the Department of Environment and MetMalaysia, will continue to closely monitor hotspot activity and ambient air quality, while maintaining open lines of communication with Indonesian authorities in order to safeguard the well-being of citizens in both countries.

As of today, 10 areas across four states have recorded Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in the unhealthy range, with Serian, Sarawak registering the highest figure, nearing the threshold for very unhealthy air quality.