BMKG urges stronger mitigation as 11,869 hotspots detected in East Kalimantan
The BMKG Balikpapan station is urging all relevant parties to strengthen mitigation efforts, from prevention to the handling of forest and land fires (karhutla), amid the high number of hotspots detected, which has reached 11,869 across East Kalimantan Province.
“There are 11,869 hotspots in East Kalimantan that BMKG managed to detect during 1–21 August 2026. This number is spread across 10 regencies and cities,” said Huda Abshor Mukhsinin, Head of the Data and Information Team at the BMKG Class I Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Balikpapan station, in Balikpapan on Saturday.
This figure represents an increase compared with the similar dry season that occurred in 2015, although this season’s El Niño phenomenon is drier. During the period of 1–21 August 2015, 9,793 hotspots were detected.
Given that this year’s El Niño is drier, mitigation measures ranging from educating the public about preventing forest and land fires to the government’s handling of incidents by involving relevant parties and community elements are important steps that must continue to be taken.
“For education and outreach, the urgent matter at present is the call not to carry out burning when clearing land, whether for agriculture or plantations, because burning has the potential to spread to other land when strong winds occur,” he said.
“This call must be made continuously over the next few months, because the peak of the drier El Niño in East Kalimantan is expected not only this month, but the peak heat period is forecast to occur from September to October, so the number of hotspots is likely to increase,” he added.
He noted that the 11,869 hotspots recorded over 21 days equate to a daily average of 565 hotspots spread across East Kalimantan.
Meanwhile, real-time data from the BMKG Balikpapan station on Friday, 21 August 2026, from 01.00 to 24.00 Wita, detected 980 hotspots in East Kalimantan, with the highest distribution in Berau Regency, which reached 439 hotspots.