Indonesia's 2026 Wildfires Have Burned Twice as Much Land as 2023

Wildfires have scorched about 1,070 square kilometers of Indonesia in 2026 — over double what burned in all of 2023. Indonesia's weather agency, BMKG, says the El Niño climate pattern is to blame: it brings unusually dry conditions and little rain. On August 8, a fire near Mount Bromo nearly tripled to 176 hectares, forcing a national park to close.