House Commission X asks government to consider school closures due to forest and land fires
Deputy Chairman of House Commission X Lalu Hadrian Irfani has asked the government to consider temporarily suspending teaching and learning activities in schools affected by forest and land fires (karhutla) in Kalimantan.
The legislator overseeing education affairs said the fires have produced smoke haze and degraded air quality, while the safety and health of students must remain the priority.
“The government needs to consider temporary school closures in affected areas, particularly when air quality has reached levels that are unhealthy for children,” Lalu told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.
According to him, school closures could be implemented as a temporary protective measure, with learning continuing through online methods or home-based assignments.
The decision to close schools should be based on air quality data, levels of smoke exposure and recommendations from local health and disaster agencies. Lalu said this would ensure that any policy adopted is properly targeted.
“The point is, when air quality already threatens health, protecting children does not mean neglecting education, but rather ensuring they remain healthy is part of our responsibility in safeguarding the continuity of education,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government continues to optimise weather modification operations (OMC) to address forest and land fires in Kalimantan.
OMC is part of an integrated strategy for controlling forest and land fires, helping to increase the likelihood of rainfall and wet fire-prone areas.
“Its implementation remains supported by ground-based firefighting, patrols, early detection, and cross-ministerial/institutional and regional government coordination,” said Ristianto Pribadi, Head of the Public Relations and Foreign Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Forestry.
In West Kalimantan, OMC was carried out on 13–17 August 2026 through the Pontianak command post. During that period, nine flight sorties were conducted, with an estimated rainfall volume in the seeding area reaching 10.92 million cubic metres.
Based on the latest weather forecasts, the opportunity to carry out OMC is open again on 23–27 August 2026. BMKG is currently coordinating efforts to resume OMC in West Kalimantan during that period.
In Central Kalimantan, OMC has been implemented in two periods, namely 27 July–4 August and 11–15 August 2026. The operation covered 13 flight sorties, with an estimated rainfall volume in the seeding area of around 4.8 million cubic metres.
For South Kalimantan, weather developments, hotspots and fire conditions continue to be monitored intensively. The opportunity to implement OMC will be assessed based on the availability of potential clouds and on-the-ground handling needs.
In the three provinces, OMC is not the only instrument for controlling forest and land fires. The government continues to prioritise ground-based firefighting, integrated patrols, cooling of affected sites, strengthening of personnel and equipment, and prevention to stop fires from spreading.