Coordinating Minister for Political, Security, and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago emphasized the need for all regional stakeholders to continuously improve their preparedness for potential forest and land fires.
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni emphasized to all companies, including the public and the private sector, to refrain from using fire to clear land amidst the high risk of forest and land fires (karhutla) due to El Niño.
The Ministry of Agriculture is optimistic that national rice production and availability will remain stable in the face of the potential El Niño, which is predicted to trigger extreme drought in the middle of this year.
The South Sumatra Regional Police, along with the Indonesian National Police (INP) Public Relations Division, are preparing the anticipation for the 2026 El Niño phenomenon through integrated mitigation measures on the threat of forest and land fires, food crises, and potential social disruption in South Sumatra.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that global climate conditions have the potential to develop into a weak to moderate El Niño phenomenon in the second half of 2026, with a probability of around 50-80 percent, increasing the risk of drought and forest and land fires in Indonesia.
