Deputy Environment Minister urges regional heads to anticipate landfill fires due to El Niño

Deputy Minister of Environment Diaz Hendropriyono has reminded regional heads to anticipate the risk of fires at final processing sites (TPA) due to the El Niño climate phenomenon. In a statement confirmed from Jakarta on Sunday, Deputy Minister of Environment and Deputy Head of the Environmental Control Agency (BPLH) Diaz said that Minister of Environment and Head of BPLH Moh Jumhur Hidayat had issued a circular as of 1 July to anticipate fires at landfills caused by El Niño. The measure was taken after the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued a warning regarding the phenomenon, which affects reduced rainfall and a drier dry season. “Mr Minister Jumhur has issued a circular to regional heads to anticipate this. The WMO has given a warning that this El Niño will be more severe, meaning we must anticipate the potential for other fires at landfills across Indonesia,” said Deputy Minister Diaz. He explained that the circular details important points and actions that regional heads need to take in their respective areas to anticipate the impact of the El Niño phenomenon. Emergency response measures, he said, need to be taken to optimise anticipation of the surge in fire risk at waste management infrastructure, especially at open dumping sites that produce massive amounts of methane gas. Speaking after inspecting the fire site at the Jatiwaringin landfill in Tangerang Regency on Saturday, Diaz confirmed that the government is prioritising the safety of residents living around the landfill. This is not only because the fire was still detected as of Saturday but also due to related health concerns for the residents. The fire at the Jatiwaringin landfill has been ongoing for five days, with smoke first observed by residents on 28 June 2026 and peaking on 30 June 2026. Responding to the situation, the Ministry of Environment and BPLH stressed the importance of regional heads’ compliance with officially issued prevention instructions from the central government to mitigate the adverse effects of extreme hot weather. The ministry and BPLH have undertaken several efforts to support the extinguishing process, including monitoring via drones and air quality surveillance around the landfill. Deputy Minister Diaz also expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Forestry for deploying Manggala Agni personnel to assist with the extinguishing efforts, given their experience in tackling forest fires in peatland areas. “We have requested coordination with the airport authorities and the Indonesian Air Force to conduct periodic monitoring analysis using drones. We have also deployed two mobile monitoring systems to monitor several parameters such as SO2, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5, which we have observed are already above the quality standards,” Diaz stated.