More hazy weeks ahead for Singapore? Indonesia aims to extinguish forest fires within a month

Singaporeans may have to contend with haze for several more weeks, with Indonesia saying it aims to extinguish all forest and land fires within a month as blazes continue to fuel poor air quality across parts of Southeast Asia, including Singapore.Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat said the intensity of the fires had already started to decline, raising hopes that they could be put out sooner, according to Indonesian news agency Antara."Based on discussions with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the fires could be extinguished in the next few weeks," Jumhur said on Tuesday (Oct 13), according to Antara. "The intensity is already starting to decline. The fires should be extinguished within a month," he added.He was speaking at the Prasasti Indonesia Policy Forum 2026 in Jakarta.However, firefighting efforts continue to face challenges, including poor visibility, which has hampered the use of water-bombing helicopters.A spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency had also suggested that such aircraft could have limited effectiveness due to poor visibility.