Indonesia's 2026 Wildfires Have Already Burned More Than Double the 2023 Total

Indonesia has lost roughly 1,070 square kilometers to wildfires in 2026 — more than double the area burned in all of 2023. The BMKG weather agency attributes the elevated risk to an El Niño-driven dry season suppressing rainfall across the archipelago. On August 8, authorities closed Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park as a blaze near Mount Bromo nearly tripled to 176 hectares.