Antara News·Indonesia·Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 07:41 AM

El Nino: Ministry urges vigilance against wildfires through November

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Aria, Kenzu

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Forestry Ministry has urged the public, farmers, and corporations to remain alert to forest and land fires until late October or early November 2026, amid dry conditions influenced by El Nino.

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni cited updated information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) showing natural rainfall is now expected to arrive later than previously forecast.

"BMKG's revision, which initially projected natural rain at the start of October, now indicates it will likely fall at the end of October or even early November," Antoni said after a working meeting with House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IV here on Wednesday.

He said this condition means vigilance against forest and land fires needs to be maintained in the coming weeks, as El Nino remains at a very strong intensity.

"This means a very strong El Nino, similar to the 2015 El Nino, will still be with us for roughly another month and a half," he said.

Antoni said public participation is an important part of preventing new fires from emerging during the dry period.

He then asked members of the public, farmers, and corporations not to engage in activities that could trigger forest and land fires, such as burning or playing with fire.

So far, the government has prioritized fire control efforts in six provinces which are Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said ground and aerial firefighting operations, including weather modification operations, continue to be carried out based on field conditions.

The Forestry Ministry said on Tuesday (September 15) that fire control efforts have been strengthened through quick field response, ground firefighting, water bombing, aerial patrols, land wetting, and weather modification based on meteorological conditions, especially following an increase in hotspots in the Kalimantan region.

BMKG, in its 1st Dasarian Atmospheric Dynamics Analysis for September 2026 released on September 14, recorded that 80.7 percent of Indonesia's territory, based on the number of seasonal zones (ZOM), or 564 ZOMs, has entered the dry season.

BMKG also recorded 1,637 points experiencing an extreme category of rainless days, meaning more than 60 consecutive days without rain.

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