West Kalimantan Extends Haze Emergency Status Through Sept. 20

September 10, 2026 | 11:12 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The West Kalimantan Provincial Government has extended the haze emergency response status resulting from forest and land fires (karhutla) until September 20, 2026. "Haze Disaster Emergency Response Status Due to Karhutla will be extended from September 7 to September 20, 2026," said West Kalimantan Deputy Governor Krisantus Kurniawan in Pontianak on Thursday, as quoted by ANTARA.

He explained that the extension was implemented because handling and cooling-down operations—carried out by the Ground and Air Task Forces—are still underway to bring forest fires in several areas of West Kalimantan under control.

In response to the forest fires and drought, Krisantus stated that the West Kalimantan provincial government has allocated funds from the Unexpected Expenditure (BTT) budget to support relief efforts. "The budget is used to support personnel mobilization, the provision and distribution of logistics, the fulfillment of clean water needs, and healthcare services for disaster-affected communities," he said.

The Kubu Raya Regency Government previously extended the disaster emergency response status based on forecasts indicating that the drought would continue until mid-October 2026.

"We have held an evaluation meeting attended by several agencies, including the BMKG. We conducted a case-by-case assessment, and it is estimated that drought conditions will persist until mid-October 2026," said Yusran, the Regional Secretary of Kubu Raya Regency, while chairing the evaluation meeting at the Kubu Raya Regent's Office on Wednesday.

Yusran Anizam said the decision came after the local government evaluated the situation with the help of several agencies, including the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). He said extending the emergency response status allows the local government to optimize its handling of the drought impacts, including those in the health and education sectors.

The Kubu Raya Regency Government also continues to focus its efforts on managing forest fires by extinguishing hotspots still found in several areas. "Although the number of hotspots has significantly decreased, personnel and volunteers continue to conduct monitoring and firefighting efforts to prevent the fire from spreading again," he said.

Read: Singapore Air Quality Returns to Unhealthy Range as Haze Persists

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