Top 10 Provinces with the Largest Forest and Land Fires in 2019

Central Kalimantan had the largest area affected by forest and land fires (karhutla) in 2019. Data from the SiPongi Karhutla Monitoring System shows that the area affected in this province, whose capital is Palangkaraya, reached 134,000 hectares throughout the year. West Kalimantan followed in second place with 127,000 hectares affected, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) was third with 119,000 hectares. Of the 10 provinces with the largest areas affected by karhutla, four were in Kalimantan, three in Sumatra, two in Nusa Tenggara, and one in Papua.

The total area affected by karhutla this year, from January 1 to December 3, 2019, reached 857,000 hectares. This figure represents a 62% increase compared to 2018 and is the largest in the last four years. Many accuse palm oil plantation companies of contributing to the karhutla, as some of the burned land has been converted into palm oil plantations.

Meanwhile, South Sumatra recorded the largest area affected by karhutla in 2014, reaching 646,000 hectares, approximately 25% of the total. In that year, the total area affected by karhutla reached 2.6 million hectares, the largest in six years. The karhutla area is calculated based on analysis of Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite imagery overlaid with hotspot data, as well as ground checks of hotspots and reports on fire suppression efforts by Manggala Agni.