BNPB: Fire Spots Increase in Three Kalimantan Provinces, Visibility Reduced to 1-2 km

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has provided an update on the development of hotspots and fire spots across six provinces affected by forest and land fires (karhutla). An increase in fire spots has been recorded in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.

This was stated by the Acting Head of the BNPB Data and Information Centre, Berton SP Panjaitan, during a press conference on Monday (31/8/2026). Berton noted that the number of hotspots in West Kalimantan has increased significantly.

“We can see that in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan, the number of hotspots is relatively increasing. In West Kalimantan, the increase is significant. In South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, it is relatively decreasing,” said Bertlam.

He added that the number of fire spots in the three provinces—West, Central, and South Kalimantan—has relatively risen, with visibility reduced to less than 1-2 kilometres.

“However, if we look at the fire spot data, we find an increase in these three provinces, and visibility is approximately 1 to 2 kilometres,” he said.

Meanwhile, for the provinces of Riau, South Sumatra, and Jambi, fire spots have relatively decreased. However, hotspots in South Sumatra increased by 209 to a total of 1,013.

“In Riau and Jambi, hotspots have decreased significantly. Visibility varies between 4 to 5 kilometres in Riau and South Sumatra, while in Jambi, it is around 7 kilometres,” he stated.

Berton also presented reports on pollutants in the affected areas as accumulated by the BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency). He stated that pollutant levels in West, Central, and South Kalimantan are categorised as very dense and are expected to persist until tomorrow.

“The following is the distribution of pollutants reported by BMKG. Looking at the predictions for today and tomorrow, we see that West, Central, and South Kalimantan are relatively very dense. This indicates that the amount of smoke is very thick in those areas,”

“In Sumatra, there are parts of Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra. In Papua, for example, if we compare today to tomorrow, there is a tendency towards diffusion or a reduction in intensity in several points, including Java,” he added.

Below is the forest fire situation as of Monday (31/8):

West Kalimantan

Hot Spot = 7,377 (up 3,553)

Fire Spot = 104 (up 88)

Visibility = less than 1 km

Central Kalimantan

Hot Spot = 5,244 (down 147)

Fire Spot = 72 (up 16)

Visibility = < 1 km

South Kalimantan

Hot Spot = 504 (down 405)

Fire Spot = 55 (up 3)

Visibility = < 2 km

Riau

Hot Spot = 62 (down 202)

Fire Spot = 12 (down 2)

Visibility = 4-5 km

South Sumatra

Hot Spot = 1,013 (up 209)

Fire Spot = 11 (down 7)

Visibility = < 5 km

Jambi

Hot Spot = 49 (down 86)

Fire Spot = 4

Visibility = 6-7 km