Every Malaysian who has lived through 2015 remembers what a bad haze year looks like. Schools closing. Masks sold out. The skyline of KL reduced to a grey smear. People with asthma struggling to function. The economic damage running into billions. And for a few weeks, the entire country's attention focused on Indonesia's burning peatlands.
We're heading into those conditions again. And this time, there's reason to believe it could be worse.
Indonesia's fire monitoring watchdog Pantau Gambut detected 23,546 hotspots in peatland areas since January 2026, with 12,942 identified in March alone, nearly tripling the February figure of 5,114. The fires are starting earlier than usual. And the climate conditions that make them spread are building toward a potential crisis.
The double threat of El Nino and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole is expected to desiccate peatlands in Sumatra and Kalimantan, with health and labour productivity losses from respiratory illness and heat exhaustion projected at RM3.5 billion to RM6.5 billion on top of the agricultural and industrial damage, making this the primary source of Malaysia's transboundary haze concern. Analysts are projecting that 2026 could witness a "Severe Haze" event on par with 2015 and 2019. In economic terms, the tourism sector alone could face losses of RM2 billion to RM6 billion from cancelled visits and reduced visibility. On top of this, temperatures in Malaysia have already exceeded 37°C in parts of Perlis, Kedah, and Perak.
NOAA has estimated that El Nino is likely to emerge in June to August 2026, with a 62% probability. If it forms strongly, the second half of 2026 becomes a significant haze risk period.
What can you do? Stock up on N95 masks now, before they disappear from pharmacy shelves. If you have children, elderly family members, or anyone with respiratory conditions in your home, make sure your air purifiers are serviced and filters are replaced. Monitor the Department of Environment's Air Pollutant Index (API) at aqicn.org/city/malaysia or through the MySPADE app. And if you've been putting off treating your air conditioning, now is a very good time to do that.
Ronny M (ronny76netstuff@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
