
Indonesian official claims country exports 'oxygen' alongside smoke, sparking backlash from analysts and neighbors.
An Indonesian official's claim that the nation exports 'oxygen' rather than just smoke has renewed criticism over Jakarta's handling of recurring forest fires and haze affecting neighboring countries.
AI-generated summary
Recurring forest and peatland fires in Indonesia send thick haze across Southeast Asia annually.
Observers say Jakarta should acknowledge its shortcomings and welcome assistance to extinguish the fires
Resty Woro Yuniarin Jakarta
Published: 6:00pm, 13 Oct 2026
An Indonesian official’s claim that the country exports “oxygen” and not just smoke to its neighbours has renewed criticism of Jakarta’s handling of its annual forest fires, with analysts warning that defensive nationalism risks undermining regional cooperation to tackle the recurring haze crisis.
The remarks by Syahganda Nainggolan, the newly appointed head of the Government Communication Agency, reignited criticism over Indonesia’s handling of its ongoing forest and peatland fires, which have sent thick haze to Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and parts of the Philippines.
“We ask all our neighbours to understand that this is beyond human error, this is truly [caused by] nature,” Syahganda said on Saturday as quoted by local news outlet Kompas.
“We’re not just sending smoke. If there’s no smoke, we’re sending oxygen. Singapore and Malaysia’s oxygen comes from our forests.”

Zhong Chenglin, director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, said in Chengdu on the 13th that the average temperature in Sichuan has been high for 13 consecutive years, and extreme weather such as high temperatures and heavy rains occurs frequently. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Sichuan will insist on paying equal attention to mitigation and adaptation to respond to the challenges brought by climate change.

Monitoring by the National Climate Center shows that a super strong El Niño has formed in September 2026. Huang Qiuru, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Bureau, said at a press conference in Haikou that the incident will intensify the risk of extreme weather and climate events in Hainan. The meteorological department has comprehensively strengthened monitoring and early warning, and reminded the public to know and avoid risks scientifically.

The Sichuan Provincial Government Information Office held a press conference in Chengdu on the 13th to officially interpret the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of Beautiful Sichuan". The plan proposes that important progress will be made in the construction of beautiful Sichuan by 2030, and it deploys four key tasks such as improving ecological environment quality and green and low-carbon transformation, as well as major projects with a total investment of nearly 226 billion yuan.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued an announcement to establish an important habitat for Bryde's whales in Weizhou Island, Beihai, Guangxi. The sea area is 335.43 square kilometers and fishing is closed for 8.5 months every year. This move fills the gap in the protection of habitats for large whales in my country's offshore waters and will maintain marine biodiversity and fishery ecological environment. Bryde's whales are national first-level protected wild animals, and more than 70 individuals have been identified in the waters of Weizhou Island.

The theme of the International Day for Disaster Reduction in 2026 is 'Building a Safe and Resilient Home'. The National Climate Center announced that September 2026 will form the strongest El Niño event in history, which is expected to lead to excessive autumn precipitation in central and eastern my country and increased risks of geological disasters such as flash floods. The article explains in detail the characteristics of flash flood disasters, high-risk periods and groups of people, explains the meaning and countermeasures of the four-color weather warning signals of "blue, yellow, orange and red", and uses three typical cases of Zhenba County in Shaanxi, Mabian County in Sichuan, Maguan County and Hekou County in Yunnan to demonstrate the effective implementation of the early warning response mechanism in practice, achieving the goal of safe transfer of personnel and zero casualties.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has established an important habitat for Bryde's whales on Weizhou Island, Beihai, Guangxi, with a sea area of 335.43 square kilometers and a fishing ban period of 8.5 months. It aims to protect the national first-level protected wild animal Bryde's whales and their habitats, and fill the gap in the protection of the habitats of large coastal whales in my country.