Deep Yellow Sky in Pontianak Causes Alarm; BMKG Responds

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has addressed the phenomenon in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, where the sky has turned a deep yellowish-brown. The colour of the sky in the city is an impact of ongoing forest and land fires (karhutla) that continue to occur at this time.

From circulating photographs, the sky in Pontianak City appears yellow due to the impact of smoke from these fires. The smoke conditions have also reduced visibility in the airspace of West Kalimantan.

“Based on monitoring by BMKG West Kalimantan, the condition of the Pontianak sky appearing yellowish this afternoon is related to the presence of smoke and high concentrations of particulates in the atmosphere,” said BMKG Meteorologist and Weather Forecaster, Adinda Dara Vahada, as quoted by CNN Indonesia on Sunday (30/8/2026).

Adinda explained that observations at the Dwikora Maritime Meteorological Station in Pontianak at 10:00 WIB showed hazy air conditions with visibility of approximately 1 kilometre.

This condition was further supported by BMKG’s Himawari-9 satellite imagery at 13:00 WIB, which detected smoke dispersal across West Kalimantan, moving predominantly towards the northwest and north.

“BMKG also detected transboundary haze moving from West Kalimantan towards Sarawak, Malaysia,” she added.

Adinda explained that smoke in the atmosphere can affect the process of sunlight scattering, in addition to reducing visibility. It is the smoke and air pollution particles that trigger the yellowish appearance of the Pontindo sky.

“As a result, the light reaching the surface can appear dimmer and yellowish to orange, making the midday atmosphere look like late afternoon. This condition is also consistent with PM2.5 monitoring in several areas of West Kalimantan, which shows quite high particulate concentrations,” Adinda explained.

Meanwhile, the Head of BMKG, Teuku Faisal Fathani, shared visibility data for West Kalimantan as of Friday (28/8) at 17:00 WIB as follows:

• Mempawah Climatology Station: 500 metres

• Dwikora Pontianak Meteorological Station: 1,500 metres

• Nanga Pinoh Melawi Meteorological Station: 3,000 metres

• Paloh Meteorological Post: 2,000 metres

• Pangsuma Kapuas Hulu Meteorological Station: 3,000 metres

• Rahadi Oesman Ketapang Meteorological Station: 6,000 metres

• Supadio Meteorological Station: 1,000 metres

• Tebelian Sintang Meteorological Station: 2,500 metres

• Singkawang Meteorological Station: 3,500 metres