Why is it hazy today?
5,645 fire hotspots detected by satellite across the region in the last 24 hours.
Haze in Malaysia is largely regional, not only local. NASA VIIRS satellites detect active fire hotspots daily, and where those hotspots sit shows where the smoke is coming from.
Observation date: 2026-10-17
| Area | Hotspots | High confidence | Total power (MW) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Borneo (Kalimantan) | 4,991 | 96 | 31,522 |
| Sumatra | 566 | 3 | 2,951 |
| Elsewhere in the region | 61 | 0 | 241 |
| Northern Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei) | 16 | 0 | 26 |
| Peninsular Malaysia | 11 | 0 | 37 |
How the smoke gets here
Two routes, and both depend on the southwest monsoon winds that blow from roughly June to September. That is why Malaysia's haze season falls between August and October.
Kalimantan to Malaysian Borneo. Winds from the south and southeast carry smoke from Kalimantan — West Kalimantan in particular — northward into Sarawak and Sabah. This is the route behind high readings in Kuching, Serian, Sibu and Sri Aman.
Sumatra to the Peninsula. Southwesterly winds carry smoke across the Strait of Malacca to the Peninsula's west coast, the route that affects Klang, Melaka and Johor.
The cause is largely burning for agriculture and land clearing, including on peatland, which smoulders long after any surface fire is out.
How to read these numbers
These are satellite thermal detections inside approximate geographic boxes, not an attribution of responsibility. They include agricultural burning and industrial heat sources, not only wildfire. The borders across the Strait of Malacca and through Borneo do not fall neatly into boxes, so the areas here are geographic rather than national.
Source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS S-NPP, near real-time). Refreshed hourly.
