RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Ministry of Forestry, along with Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), is enhancing national preparedness to face the potential forest and land fires by 2026 through an inter-agency coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday, April 6, 2026. This step was taken in response to the forecast of an earlier and longer dry season than in the previous year.

Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, stated that this year's weather patterns have the potential to significantly increase the risk of forest and land fires. "This year we are facing a drought that is earlier and longer, making the threat of forest and land fires greater compared to last year," he said at a press conference after the meeting.

The Minister of Forestry urged the public to be more concerned about the increasing potential for forest and land fires by being more responsible in avoiding open burning that sparks wildfires, especially in slash-and-burn land clearing.

"In essence, the community must be more vigilant, must be more careful in the land clearing process, and especially companies, as land clearing will directly impact the increase in forest and land fires," the Minister stated.

Data from the Ministry of Forestry shows that the area affected by forest and land fires from January to February 2026 reached 32,637.43 hectares, while throughout March 2026 it is estimated to increase by around 10,175.48 hectares. The regions with the largest affected areas include Riau Province, West Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, the Head of BMKG, Teuku Faisal Fathani, mentioned that regarding the potential for forest and land fires in 2026, BMKG has attempted to conduct an analysis, which resulted in this year's dry season arriving earlier and lasting longer, with average rainfall below normal compared to the dry seasons of the past 30 years.

In addition to the drought, the Head of BMKG also explained about this year's El Nino. From his observations, the potential for El Nino is still classified as weak to moderate. "We hope to continue monitoring it. What happens this year will be monitored until 2027," Faisal conveyed.

In line with that, BNPB has prepared around 16 helicopters for water bombing and 12 helicopters for patrols. This number can increase if the escalation of forest fires rises, and it can decrease if the fires can be minimized as much as possible.