Indonesia's Central Kalimantan Hit by Worst Haze in 11 Years

Indonesia is fighting its worst forest fires and toxic haze in 11 years, with the crisis centered in Central Kalimantan province on Borneo, according to an Al Jazeera Newsfeed report published Oct. 19, 2026. Critics cited in the report accuse Indonesian authorities of failing to take adequate action to contain the fires as smoke continues to worsen across the region.

How bad is the haze in Central Kalimantan right now?

Al Jazeera's video report describes the fires and accompanying haze as still worsening in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia's second-largest province by land area. The report does not cite hectares burned, a death toll, or an air-quality index reading, a gap the source material leaves unresolved as of publication.

By the numbers, per Al Jazeera:

• 11 years — the span since Indonesia last faced a haze crisis described as comparably severe.
• 1 — the number of provinces, Central Kalimantan, named as the epicenter in the report.

Why is 2026 being compared to a crisis 11 years ago?

The 11-year marker places the current haze event as more severe than anything the country has recorded since 2015, the year widely cited for Indonesia's last major regional fire and haze crisis. Al Jazeera's framing ties the current outbreak directly to that benchmark without supplying additional historical figures within the clip itself.

What are critics saying about the government's response?

Critics accuse authorities of failing to take adequate action to contain the crisis, Al Jazeera reports. The video does not name the critics, quote them directly, or specify whether the criticism is directed at national officials in Jakarta, provincial authorities in Central Kalimantan, or both.

What details are still missing from the public record?

The source material leaves several questions open: total acreage burned, whether other provinces beyond Central Kalimantan are affected, any school closures or flight disruptions tied to the smoke, and whether neighboring countries such as Malaysia or Singapore have logged transboundary haze. None of those figures appear in the Al Jazeera segment, and HTT News could not independently verify additional metrics ahead of publication.

Where can the full report be viewed?

The original segment, filed under Al Jazeera's Weather and NewsFeed sections, is available at Al Jazeera. HTT News will update this report if Indonesian government agencies or regional air-quality monitors release figures on burned area, casualties, or pollution readings.