JAYAPURA – The smog that covered Jayapura City and the surrounding area is suspected to have come from forest and land fires (karhutla) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and South Papua Province. This condition is influenced by the movement of the wind that brings smoke from the fire source area to Jayapura.
Head of Climatology BMKG Jayapura, Sulaiman, said that the observation results showed that the fog that covered the Jayapura area was smoke sent from karhutla in both regions. This finding is a concern because the impact of fire in one area can extend to other areas following atmospheric conditions and wind direction.
“The wind brings karhutla smoke to cover Jayapura City,” said Sulaiman to Antara in Jayapura, Tuesday.
He explained, the smoke that came from Papua New Guinea did not come from West Sepik Province which borders Jayapura City and Keerom Regency. Based on monitoring, the source of smoke from PNG actually comes from the northern region which is observed to have quite a lot of fire points.
Apart from PNG, karhutla smoke from South Papua Province, especially Merauke Regency, is also one of the contributors to the smog that covers Jayapura. In fact, the smoke from the fire in Merauke is reported to have reached North Sulawesi.
According to Sulaiman, weather conditions, especially wind movements, play an important role in bringing smoke from areas that experienced fire to other areas. Thus, the smog that appears in Jayapura is not only related to local conditions, but also influenced by karhutla activities in more distant areas.
Based on the results of monitoring hot spots on October 13, 2026, at 02.00 to 18.00 WIT, 79 fire spots were recorded in South Papua Province. A total of 70 points were monitored in Merauke Regency, seven points in Boven Digoel Regency, and two points in Mappi Regency. Meanwhile, Asmat Regency is reported to be zero fire.
The data shows that Merauke is the area with the most hot spots in South Papua during the monitoring period. This condition reinforces the importance of monitoring karhutla and smoke movement to understand the impact on air quality in other regions.
BMKG identified wind movement as one of the factors that caused smoke from South Papua and Papua New Guinea to reach Jayapura. People in the affected areas are expected to pay attention to the development of weather information and air quality from the authorities, especially if the smog is getting thicker or disrupting daily activities.
This incident shows that the impact of karhutla can cross the administrative boundaries, so monitoring hot spots, fire handling, and the delivery of information to the community are important to anticipate the wider impact of smoke.
