Forest and Land Fires Spread Across Indonesia as Cloud Seeding Operations Remain on Hold
Forest and land fires (karhutla) are reported to be spreading across a number of regions. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has revealed that Weather Modification Operations (OMC) to assist firefighting efforts cannot yet be implemented due to the absence of convective clouds, which are a primary requirement for salt seeding.
OMC is an intervention to increase the potential for rain by seeding clouds with sodium chloride (NaCl) using specialised aircraft, based on scientific data and involving a team of experts from BMKG, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), and the Indonesian Air Force.
BMKG Deputy for Weather Modification Tri Handoko Seto confirmed on Monday (10/8/2026) that due to these conditions, OMC is estimated to be unfeasible for at least the next 10 days, depending on cloud growth in each region. “Conditions vary by region, but we are continuously monitoring until there is potential (clouds) for OMC,” he said.
The statement was made in response to the escalation of forest and land fire incidents reported by BNPB during the period of 7 to 10 August 2026, which have affected various points on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bangka Belitung, Sulawesi, North Maluku, and Southwest Papua.
Head of the BNPB Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Centre Abdul Muhari reported that in East Java, significant fires have hit the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) area, with a total burned area reaching 520 hectares as of Sunday (9/8/2026) evening, forcing park authorities to completely close all tourist entrance gates since Saturday (8/8/2026) until an unspecified time.
Still in East Java, fires scorched 6.5 hectares of Perhutani land on Mount Watangan, Jember Regency, while in West Java, fires consumed two hectares of land in Subang. In Central Java, fires also burned two hectares of land in Jepara and three hectares in Banyumas due to waste burning.
Meanwhile, on Sulawesi Island, fires expanded to burn 72.4 hectares of land on Bakalan Island, Banggai Islands, and three hectares on Mount Batu Pongki, Tojo Una-Una, Central Sulawesi. In South Sulawesi, a joint team is still extinguishing fires that have consumed 15 hectares of land in Tana Toraja.
Outside Java and Sulawesi, fires also scorched 23 hectares of land across three sub-districts in East Halmahera (North Maluku), two hectares in Sorong (Southwest Papua), 2.29 hectares in East Belitung (Bangka Belitung), and one hectare in Aceh Besar (Aceh).
Despite this, Abdul Muhari confirmed that joint task force teams in all affected areas are being maximised to handle and mitigate the spread of the fires, by deploying ground-based water spraying equipment, water tank trucks, creating firebreaks, and conducting aerial water bombing using helicopters.