Fires char New Guinea amid drought

NASA reported that fires scorched New Guinea in September and October 2026 as drought gripped the island during a strong El Niño. Smoke shrouded large areas for weeks, while the southern part of the island experienced especially dry conditions.

The VIIRS on the NOAA-20 satellite captured thick smoke streaming from southern New Guinea on October 11, 2026. NASA said high air pollution delayed and canceled flights, closed schools, and led officials in some areas to advise children and older people to wear masks.

According to the Global Fire Emissions Database, fires in Papua New Guinea released nearly 32 megatons of carbon by October 19. That was more than any other year on record at that point in the year. Fire scientist Guido van der Werf said emissions were already much higher than the 2015 total for the year.

On the Indonesian side, known as Indonesian Papua, carbon emissions exceeded 35 megatons. This was the third highest after 2015 and 1997, which were also El Niño years with severe fires. NASA reported that fires were active in Indonesian Papua and Kalimantan.

Papua New Guinea’s National Weather Service said the southernmost Trans-Fly region went more than 90 consecutive days without rain. Since August, some areas received roughly 5 to 10 percent of normal precipitation. Local news outlets reported crop failures, water shortages and school disruptions.

Researchers said people caused most fires through crop burning, pasture maintenance, deforestation, land clearing and hunting. NASA cited Global Forest Watch data showing that Indonesian Papua lost 27,000 hectares of primary forest in 2025, nearly double the 2024 total and the most since 2017. Researchers expected the fires to continue until heavy wet-season rains typically arrived in early November.