ASEAN foreign ministers are set to place transboundary haze pollution on the agenda of their November preparatory meetings, as worsening smoke from forest and peatland fires continues to affect parts of Southeast Asia and renews calls for stronger regional action.
The Philippines, as ASEAN Chair for 2026, confirmed that the issue will be discussed ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Manila. Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said on 13 October that transboundary haze is included on the agenda for the upcoming foreign ministers’ discussions.
The announcement comes as prolonged fires and dry conditions have generated serious air-quality problems across several ASEAN countries, placing renewed attention on whether existing regional mechanisms are sufficient to prevent and manage recurring haze episodes.
Malaysia Pushes for Stronger Regional Mechanisms
Malaysia has already announced its intention to raise the issue at the November foreign ministers’ meeting.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Malaysia wants ASEAN to examine more effective regional mechanisms for tackling transboundary haze, noting that haze is currently not classified within ASEAN’s existing natural-disaster mechanisms. The Star
Mohamad said the recurring nature and regional impact of haze warrant special attention, particularly when pollution originating in one location affects public health, schools, businesses and daily life across national borders.
He also acknowledged the difficulties Indonesia is facing in extinguishing current fires. According to information provided to him by Indonesian authorities, poor visibility has prevented aircraft and helicopters from operating safely in some affected areas, while thousands of personnel have been deployed for ground-based firefighting.
Peatland fires present a particularly difficult challenge because they can continue burning beneath the surface and may require substantial water and prolonged suppression efforts.
Current Haze Crisis Tests Regional Preparedness
The latest haze episode has become one of the region’s most serious in recent years.
Wildfires in West Kalimantan and other parts of Indonesian Borneo have persisted for months, with smoke affecting communities within Indonesia and travelling across borders into Malaysia and other neighbouring countries. The situation has contributed to school closures, health concerns and transport disruption in affected areas.
The regional impact reinforces a longstanding challenge for ASEAN: haze does not remain confined to the country where fires originate.
Wind conditions can carry fine particulate matter hundreds of kilometres across national borders, turning local land and forest fires into a wider public-health and economic issue.
For ASEAN governments, this means prevention and response require coordination extending beyond domestic firefighting operations.
El Niño Conditions Increase the Risk
Weather conditions are making the current situation more difficult.
The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) reported that El Niño conditions are present and expected to strengthen during October and November 2026. Below-normal rainfall is forecast across much of the Maritime Continent, while above-normal temperatures are expected over much of the ASEAN region.
Under these conditions, ASMC expects hotspot and smoke-haze activity across southern ASEAN to remain elevated, with continued risk of transboundary haze under prevailing wind patterns.
Some relief could arrive as inter-monsoon showers increase towards the end of October, but the broader outlook shows why governments remain concerned about continuing fire and haze risks.
The situation also illustrates how climate variability can intensify an already complex environmental problem involving land management, peatlands, agricultural practices and fire prevention.
ASEAN Already Has a Regional Haze Framework
ASEAN is not starting from scratch.
The region operates under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), which provides a formal framework for cooperation on preventing, monitoring and mitigating land and forest fires and their transboundary effects.
ASEAN has also adopted the Second Roadmap for ASEAN Cooperation on Transboundary Haze Pollution Control 2023–2030, which carries the vision of achieving “A Transboundary Haze-Free ASEAN by 2030.”
The roadmap emphasises stronger fire prevention and suppression, sustainable peatland and agricultural-land management, improved enforcement, technology and information sharing, and closer cooperation between governments and other stakeholders.
However, the persistence of severe haze episodes demonstrates the continuing gap between regional commitments and conditions on the ground.
Prevention Becomes as Important as Firefighting
The November discussions are therefore likely to focus not only on emergency response but also on prevention.
Once peatland and forest fires grow large enough to generate widespread smoke, extinguishing them can become extremely difficult, particularly during prolonged dry weather.
Stronger measures could include better hotspot detection, faster information sharing, preventive peatland management, stricter enforcement against illegal burning and greater coordination among forestry, agriculture, environment and disaster-management authorities.
ASEAN’s current Haze-Free Roadmap already recognises this need by placing greater emphasis on fire prevention, sustainable land management and stronger implementation of environmental regulations.
More effective implementation could reduce the need for governments to repeatedly respond only after haze has already crossed borders.
Regional Cooperation Must Address the Root Causes
Transboundary haze is not simply a meteorological problem.
Land clearing, agricultural burning, degraded peatlands and forest fires can all contribute to severe smoke events, while prolonged dry conditions can significantly worsen their scale.
ASEAN’s regional strategy consequently incorporates both environmental and economic dimensions, including sustainable peatland management and alternatives to burning-based land preparation.
Recent ASEAN ministerial discussions have also encouraged wider participation from governments, businesses, local communities and financial partners to support haze-free sustainable land management.
Such cooperation is particularly important because land-management decisions made at the local level can ultimately create environmental consequences extending far beyond national borders.
Public Health Adds Urgency to the Discussion
The renewed diplomatic attention also reflects the direct impact haze can have on people.
Severe smoke pollution can aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, reduce visibility and force authorities to limit outdoor activities.
Recent haze conditions have led to school closures and increased concern over respiratory illness across affected areas of Southeast Asia.
Singapore, Malaysia and other affected countries have also had to closely monitor air quality and issue health guidance during periods of elevated pollution.
The public-health dimension strengthens the case for treating haze as more than an isolated environmental problem. It affects education, tourism, transportation, productivity and healthcare systems simultaneously.
ASEAN’s November Meetings Could Mark an Important Policy Moment
Bringing the issue directly to ASEAN foreign ministers gives transboundary haze additional political visibility.
While environmental ministers and technical agencies have long worked on the problem, foreign-minister-level discussions can help elevate questions surrounding cross-border accountability, regional coordination and institutional mechanisms.
Malaysia’s proposal to examine whether ASEAN’s existing disaster architecture should better incorporate haze could also broaden the discussion.
The bloc already possesses established regional platforms for disaster response, environmental cooperation and meteorological monitoring. The challenge is determining whether these tools are sufficiently integrated to respond to haze episodes that can persist for weeks or months and affect multiple countries simultaneously.
Looking Ahead
The November meetings will take place at a critical moment.
ASEAN has already committed to achieving a transboundary haze-free region by 2030, but current conditions demonstrate how difficult that objective will be without stronger prevention, enforcement and regional coordination.
The immediate priority remains containing existing fires and protecting affected communities. The longer-term task is preventing the same cycle from returning whenever severe dry conditions emerge.
As ASEAN foreign ministers prepare to discuss the issue, the focus will increasingly turn towards whether existing commitments can be translated into more effective operational mechanisms — from faster cross-border information sharing and coordinated fire suppression to stronger land-management enforcement and peatland restoration.
The 2026 haze crisis has again shown that air pollution does not recognise national borders. A lasting solution will therefore require Member States to treat transboundary haze as a shared regional challenge requiring sustained collective action.
With El Niño conditions expected to keep fire risk elevated in the months ahead, the November discussions could become an important opportunity for ASEAN to strengthen its response and move closer to its goal of a haze-free Southeast Asia by 2030.
