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An orange sky over Palangka Raya on 14–15 October 2026 is smoke from active forest and land fires around Kalimantan, not an unusually vivid sunset. The haze has pushed air pollution to hazardous or very unhealthy levels, sharply reduced visibility and spread across parts of Indonesia and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries.
Why the sky in Kalimantan turned orange
Thick smoke from ongoing forest and land fires in and around Kalimantan filtered sunlight over Palangka Raya, the capital of Central Kalimantan. Video and contemporaneous reporting showed smoke moving through residential areas and visibility deteriorating substantially. Slash-and-burn land clearing has also been cited as a contributing factor.
The colour comes from sunlight travelling through a dense layer of smoke particles. It can look like a sunset even during the day, but the underlying event is a wildfire-haze episode and should be treated as an air-quality emergency.
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Indonesia’s pollution readings reached levels associated with serious health risk. The ISPU air-pollution index exceeded 1,200 on Wednesday, 14 October—four times the country’s stated hazardous threshold of 300.
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| Location or measure | Reading | Time and meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Palangka Raya ISPU | More than 1,200 | 14 October 2026; over four times Indonesia’s hazardous threshold of 300 |
| Pangkalanbun PM2.5 | 411.2 µg/m³ | BMKG live page at 10:00 WIB on 16 October; hazardous |
| Palangkaraya PM2.5 | 219 µg/m³ | BMKG live page at 10:00 WIB on 16 October; very unhealthy |
| BMKG hazardous PM2.5 category | Above 250.5 µg/m³ | Concentration threshold used in BMKG’s categories |
| Palangka Raya visibility | 150 metres | Reported at 12:30 p.m. on 7 October |
These are location- and time-specific measurements, not a single reading for every part of Kalimantan. Wind, rainfall and fire activity can change conditions within hours, so a station’s latest local reading is more useful than a regional average.
What is driving the fires and persistent smoke?
Dry weather and El Niño
BMKG’s late-September outlook recorded 255 high-confidence hotspots in Kalimantan through 27 September and linked elevated fire risk to prolonged dry conditions, low rainfall and a very strong El Niño pattern. Fires can spread more readily when vegetation and peatlands remain dry, while the lack of rain removes a natural way to clear smoke and suppress flames.
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Land clearing
Authorities and reporting have also pointed to slash-and-burn practices used for land clearing. That does not identify every individual fire, but it is one documented contributor to the broader forest-and-land-fire problem.
Hotspot counts continued rising
Bernama, citing Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry, reported 1,176 high-confidence hotspots as of the night of 7 October. Hotspot counts indicate detected heat signatures rather than an exact count of fires or burned hectares, but the increase helps explain why smoke continued into mid-October.
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How far has the haze spread?
The smoke has affected areas beyond Central Kalimantan and has been reported across Indonesia, with haze also reaching Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The boundary is not fixed: wind can carry smoke into new areas, while rainfall may quickly improve conditions in others.
BMKG’s smoke-impact model loaded on 16 October projected impacts in 279 districts across 28 provinces for 15 October. Its modeled total fell to 208 districts in 26 provinces by 17 October. Those figures are model outputs, not a guarantee that every district experienced the same concentration or visibility.
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What residents should do now
- Reduce outdoor exposure. Postpone non-essential outdoor exercise and work when local readings are very unhealthy or hazardous.
- Close windows and doors. Keep smoke out of indoor spaces as much as possible; avoid activities that draw unfiltered outdoor air inside.
- Wear a suitable mask outside. Local guidance recommends a mask when exposure cannot be avoided. It should fit well around the face and be intended for fine particulate pollution rather than providing only cosmetic coverage.
- Protect higher-risk people. Children, older adults and people with asthma or other respiratory conditions should take extra precautions and spend as little time in smoky air as practical.
- Watch for symptoms. Smoke can irritate the eyes and throat, trigger coughing and worsen existing breathing problems. Seek medical care for severe breathing difficulty.
Some residents still have to travel or work outdoors. Metro TV journalist Joy Jones described that reality: “Many people are still moving around in the centre of Palangka Raya. This is not because they are unconcerned about their health amid the haze, but because they are forced to work outdoors and have no other choice to meet their living needs.”
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How to follow changing conditions
Check the latest BMKG PM2.5 station reading for your town rather than relying on a video or an older regional figure. Also check local visibility, wind and rainfall reports. A lower modeled district count or a temporary clearing does not mean the fires are extinguished; conditions can deteriorate again if winds shift or dry weather persists.
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For anyone planning travel through Central Kalimantan, treat hazardous readings and very low visibility as reasons to delay non-essential journeys. Drivers should use extra caution when visibility falls, and residents should follow instructions from local authorities if evacuations, school closures or other measures are announced.
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