{
  "id": 14680872,
  "title": "Haze turns Indonesian skies orange, shuts East Timor schools",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/haze-turns-indonesian-skies-orange-shuts-east-timor-schools-14680872",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-15T10:44:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/15/haze-turns-indonesia-skies-orange-shuts-schools-in-east-timor"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Thursday, the skies over Indonesia's Palangkaraya turned an apocalyptic yellow and orange due to thick haze from wildfires, reducing visibility to just a few dozen meters. This air pollution crisis prompted nearby East Timor to close schools for three days. Malaysia, Singapore, Medan, and Jakarta also ranked among the world's most polluted major cities. In Palangkaraya, motorbike taxi driver Heri struggled to breathe through the smoke, which had been thick for days. East Timorese in the capital Dili, wearing masks, welcomed the government's decision to close schools, as the pollution had been especially severe. Indonesia's regular dry season wildfires this year have been exceptionally severe due to a strong El Nino-induced drought, causing smoke to spread across Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and East Timor. The Indonesian government has deployed thousands of firefighters to combat the blazes, but has struggled to control them, especially those burning in peatlands, which are difficult to extinguish.",
  "summary": "Residents in Palangkaraya, Kalimantan, were among the worst affected, with skies turning deep orange on Wednesday night and remaining a murky yellow on Thursday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 10,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "'Very dangerous': Timor-Leste shuts schools over Indonesia haze",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/very-dangerous-timor-leste-shuts-schools-over-indonesia-haze",
        "published": "2026-10-15T06:46:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Lim Guan Eng urges Malaysia to sue Indonesia over haze if Jakarta rejects Asean firefighting task force",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/lim-guan-eng-urges-malaysia-to-sue-indonesia-over-haze-if-jakarta",
        "published": "2026-10-15T06:53:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Indonesia to deploy dry ice to reduce thick haze from fires",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/indonesia-to-deploy-dry-ice-to-reduce-thick-haze-from-fires",
        "published": "2026-10-15T07:36:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Haze turns Indonesia skies orange, shuts schools in East Timor",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/haze-turns-indonesia-skies-orange-shuts-schools-in-east-timor",
        "published": "2026-10-15T08:26:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Bangkok Post",
        "title": "Orange skies in Indonesia as haze crisis spreads",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/orange-skies-in-indonesia-as-haze-crisis-spreads",
        "published": "2026-10-15T08:45:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Arabian Post",
        "title": "Indonesia wildfire haze darkens skies, closes Timor schools",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/indonesia-wildfire-haze-darkens-skies-closes-timor-schools",
        "published": "2026-10-15T09:35:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Haze turns Indonesian skies orange, shuts East Timor schools",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/haze-turns-indonesian-skies-orange-shuts-east-timor-schools",
        "published": "2026-10-15T10:44:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "Haze turns Indonesia skies orange, shuts schools in East Timor",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/haze-turns-indonesia-skies-orange-shuts-schools-in-east-timor-14690446",
        "published": "2026-10-15T11:24:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Mothership",
        "title": "East Kalimantan governor seen at MBS hotel, draws flak from Indonesians amid haze & forest fire crisis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/east-kalimantan-governor-seen-at-mbs-hotel-draws-flak-from",
        "published": "2026-10-15T11:44:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}