Indonesia battles haze as wildfires rage across South Sumatra forests

Read the original at Al Jazeera ↗
Cite

AP. (2026, August 25). Indonesia battles haze as wildfires rage across South Sumatra forests. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2026/8/25/indonesia-battles-haze-as-wildfires-rage-across-south-sumatra-forests?traffic_source=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Al Jazeera · collected 2026-08-25 · by AP

Quick Summary

In South Sumatra, Indonesia, authorities are struggling with widespread wildfires that have created hazardous haze, with 3,000 residents gathering for a special Islamic prayer to bring rain. The region has the highest number of wildfire hotspots in Indonesia, with 1,429 detected by Environment Ministry satellites, and nearly 940 square kilometers of land burned in July alone. Authorities are battling the fires, which are driven by El Nino and a prolonged dry season, and have deployed aircraft for cloud seeding and water bombing. The smoke has drifted into neighboring countries Malaysia and Brunei.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

About 3,000 residents in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province in Indonesia, gathered on Tuesday to perform a special Islamic prayer for rain, known as "salat istisqa", amidst hazardous haze caused by wildfires. The province has the highest number of wildfire hotspots in Indonesia, with 1,429 detected by Environment Ministry satellites, followed by West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan. The fires have burned 940 square kilometers (360 square miles) of land in July alone, including 20sq km (8sq miles) in South Sumatra. Authorities have deployed aircraft for cloud seeding and water bombing, arrested 72 people over allegations of using fire to clear land, and are investigating four companies. The governor, Herman Deru, said the prayer would complement ongoing firefighting efforts and serve as a moment for residents to unite against environmental challenges.

Written for “Indonesia Wildfires and Haze” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Indonesia Wildfires and Haze
Environment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Indonesian Muslims brave choking smoke to pray for rain as country battles wildfires same event · 100%
Euronews · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 13% hedged 2 of 15 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the exact same event: a group of 3,000 people gathering in Palembang to perform salat istisqa for rain amidst raging wildfires and hazardous haze in South Sumatra, Indonesia on August 25, 2026.”
Malaysia says Indonesia to open airspace for cloud seeding to tackle haze different event · 90%
South China Morning Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 20% hedged 1 of 5 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A focuses on a specific agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia to open airspace for cloud seeding operations, while Article B describes wildfires in South Sumatra, Indonesia, without mentioning any agreements with Malaysia.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
1 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 3191 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-10-03
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2026-09-30
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Who wrote this

AP
18 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by AP
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 18 articles by AP →

Topics

Indonesia Islamic Palembang South Sumatra Sumatra

Subjects

Indonesia GPE · 2× Brunei GPE · 1× Environment Ministry ORG · 1× Herman Deru PERSON · 1× Islamic NORP · 1× Malaysia GPE · 1× Palembang GPE · 1× South Sumatra GPE · 1× Sumatra GPE · 1×

Narrative

Authorities have deployed dozens of aircraft for cloud seeding and water bombing and arrested 72 people over allegations of using fire to clear land, while four companies are under investigation. Seasonal fires and cross-border haze have long been a regional flashpoint in Southeast Asia.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-25
2026-08-25 · Al Jazeera
Indonesia battles haze as wildfires rage across South Sumatra forests · assertive framing

Claims (10 extracted, 1 hedged)

Authorities in South Sumatra, Indonesia, have turned to spiritual measures as wildfires rage across forests and peatlands, shrouding parts of the country in hazardous haze. asserted
wildfires → turn → haze
About 3,000 residents gathered on Tuesday in Palembang, the provincial capital, to perform salat istisqa, a special Islamic prayer for rain, in the courtyard of the governor’s office. asserted
residents → gather → office
Worshippers stood shoulder to shoulder as thick smoke reduced visibility and forced motorists to drive with headlights on during the day. asserted
headlights → stand → day
South Sumatra currently has the highest number of wildfire hotspots in Indonesia, with 1,429 detected by Environment Ministry satellites, followed by West Kalimantan with 1,226 and Central Kalimantan with 811. asserted
Sumatra → have → 811
Nearly 940 square kilometres (360 square miles) of land burned in July alone, officials say, including more than 20sq km (8sq miles) in South Sumatra. asserted
officials → burn → Sumatra
“We have done everything we can and worked closely with all relevant parties,” Governor Herman Deru said before the prayers. asserted
Deru → do → prayers
“As people of faith, we are also praying to God to send rain so that life can return to normal.” asserted
life → pray → rain
Emergency crews are battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season. asserted
crews → battle → pattern
The fires have generated smoke that has drifted into Malaysia and Brunei, according to the national disaster management agency. uncertain
that → generate → agency
Authorities have deployed dozens of aircraft for cloud seeding and water bombing and arrested 72 people over allegations of using fire to clear land, while four companies are under investigation. Seasonal fires and cross-border haze have long been a regional flashpoint in Southeast Asia. asserted
fires → deploy → Asia
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