ClimateReportedHighDevelopingFeatured

El Niño-driven forest fires blanket Southeast Asia, closing schools in Malaysia

Indonesia reports 799 active forest fires, concentrated in Sumatra and Borneo, with smoke spreading across Southeast Asia, forcing hundreds of school closures in Malaysia and affecting Singapore and the Philippines. The fires are linked to El Niño-induced drought, which also hampers firefighting due to water shortages. This is a recurring seasonal pattern, but the scale and cross-border impact elevate regional health and economic concerns.

NRKabout 5 hours agoID, MY, SG, PHCredibility 38%View source

Score Breakdown

Mosaic Score7.8

Model confidence0.7

Significance0.8

Source credibility0.4

Intelligence Tags

#forest fires #el nino #air quality #school closures #drought #indonesia

Locations

SumatraBorneo

Entities

country

Source

Part of 2 situations

activeClimateHealth1h ago

Indonesia's Worst Wildfires in Years Fuel Southeast Asia Haze Crisis

Indonesia is experiencing its most severe wildfire season in over a decade, intensified by El Niño, leading to widespread toxic haze across Southeast Asia. The fires, concentrated in Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, are confirmed to have caused at least eight deaths (four firefighters, four others) and prompted school closures in Malaysia and a rise in respiratory illnesses across the region. Jakarta has accepted foreign aid and is employing cloud seeding, but the crisis is expected to persist until seasonal rains arrive.

↑ escalating·8 signals·ID, SG, MY +3Score 6.0

activeClimateHealthjust now