Climate change intensified Indonesia's devastating wildfires, scientists say

Human-induced climate change significantly exacerbated Indonesia's devastating wildfires this year, according to scientists. A report by the World Weather Attribution found that the fire season temperatures were 1.6 degrees Celsius higher than they would have been without global warming, despite the strong influence of the El Niño phenomenon.

Theodore Keeping, a researcher at Imperial College London, stated that the weather conditions driving the fires were becoming increasingly severe, with the 2026 fire season being the worst in decades. The report emphasized the compounded impact of climate change, prolonged dry weather, and land degradation in worsening Indonesia's fire outbreaks.

Nearly 2.88 million hectares were affected by fires between January and October 2026, with October alone seeing almost one million hectares damaged, a 35% increase compared to the same period in 2019.

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