Several West Sumatra border areas affected by haze from neighbouring provinces' forest fires

A number of districts and cities in West Sumatra are shrouded in haze due to smoke drifting from neighbouring provinces.

The West Sumatra Provincial Government has explained that several areas located on the provincial border are affected by smoke from forest and land fires in neighbouring provinces.

“A number of districts and cities in West Sumatra are hazy because they are receiving smoke from neighbouring provinces,” said Head of the West Sumatra Environmental Agency Tasliatul Fuaddi in Padang on Monday.

He said the affected areas are Pesisir Selatan Regency, Dharmasraya, Sijunjung, Lima Puluh Kota, and parts of Tanah Datar, as well as Solok.

As a result, visibility in these areas has decreased compared to normal days and air quality has also been affected.

“Wear masks and reduce outdoor activities to maintain health. We are waiting for the firefighting efforts currently being carried out by the joint government team,” he said.

He said the smoke entering West Sumatra is coming from neighbouring provinces such as Jambi, Riau, and South Sumatra, not from within West Sumatra itself. This is known from the number of hotspots in West Sumatra which dropped drastically in the period 14-23 August compared to the period 1-13 August 2026.

“Hotspots in West Sumatra have decreased, but haze is still occurring in areas bordering neighbouring provinces,” said Tasliatul Fuaddi.

Based on data from Sipongi Gakkum Kehutanan for the period 14-23 August, hotspots in Jambi were recorded at 1,281 points, Riau at 1,433 points, and South Sumatra reached 4,975 points.

Meanwhile, Bengkulu and North Sumatra provinces were recorded at relatively low figures of 154 points and 214 points respectively.