Indonesian forest fires push Southeast Asia haze to highest ASEAN alert level

Alert level 3 across southern ASEAN

The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), located near Changi Airport in Singapore, declared alert level 3 for the southern region of the bloc, the top step on its four-level scale from zero to three. The alert applies when there is a "high risk" of severe transboundary haze, and the centre did not name the countries concerned. Sources date the declaration to 16 or 17 October, and earlier warnings of this kind were issued in March and August this year. The smoke now reaches well beyond Indonesia's borders.

Fires, deaths and air pollution in Indonesia

Indonesia is experiencing its worst forest fire season in years, with fires burning in Sumatra, Kalimantan, the Moluccas and parts of Papua. As of Friday, 16 October, eleven large active fires covered more than 120,000 hectares, and estimates put the area burned since the start of 2026 at up to 900,000 hectares. On Thursday, 15 October, four men died fighting fires in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, according to Indonesia's forestry ministry, and two others were seriously burned. Indonesian authorities counted 280,000 cases of respiratory illness, and the government has deployed more than 60,000 firefighters, according to AFP. Illegal land clearing for palm oil plantations and the felling of primary forest are among the causes, and the El Niño weather phenomenon is worsening the situation this year.

Schools and air quality in Singapore

Singapore has recorded its longest run of poor air quality since 2015, and 16 October was the twelfth consecutive day of unhealthy PSI readings. Environment Minister Grace Fu said readings could exceed 300 and reach dangerous levels in the coming days, and that the inter-monsoon period expected in three to four weeks should improve air quality. She recommended checking hourly PM2.5 measurements alongside PSI readings. Education Minister Desmond Lee said schools will stay open and national exams will go ahead as scheduled. Schools would only be considered for closure if the 24-hour PSI exceeds 301, in which case distance learning would be used, while schools and childcare centres stay open for parents who cannot care for their children at home. The O- and A-level exams, starting in the week of 19 October, will take place in air-conditioned classrooms fitted with air purifiers, and Lee urged parents to rely only on official Ministry of Education information rather than fake news on social media.

Smoke spreads and companies named

Smoke has reached Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Timor-Leste, and Malaysia closed schools earlier in October. Flights have been disrupted several times, and tens of thousands of people are suffering breathing problems. Smoke reached Jakarta on Friday, 16 October, according to the Jakarta Post, and BMKG satellite data placed it at two to three kilometres above the capital and western Java. Indonesia has dispersed 2.4 tonnes of dry ice over an airport in South Sumatra by aircraft, according to its national disaster agency, in an effort to thin the haze. On Friday, Singapore said it would warn seven Indonesian companies it holds responsible for the fires, mostly timber suppliers clearing rainforest in Sumatra. The Philippine foreign ministry said smog will be discussed at several meetings ahead of the ASEAN summit in Manila in November.