Unpacking the Haze: What Is Floating in Palau’s Air and When Will It Clear?

By L.N. Reklai

KOROR, Palau (Oct. 15, 2026) For the past three months, a thick, gray haze has hung over the islands of Palau. It has blocked our views of the ocean, darkened our skies, and left many asking what is going to clear our air.

A detailed six-month record released by scientists at the Palau Atmospheric Observatory (PAO)—located in downtown Koror on the campus of Palau Community College (PCC)—explains where this smoke comes from, what it is doing to our health and environment, and when it will finally leave.

1. What Is the Exact Cause of the Haze, and Can We Do Anything About It?

The primary cause of the haze is smoldering forest and peatland fires in Southeast Asia and neighboring regions, not local land clearing. While Palau recorded 16 brush fires during dry conditions in August 2026, scientific monitoring confirms that local fires are far too small to create this amount of thick smoke.

Satellite tracking by NASA and European space agencies shows massive fire clusters burning across:

• Indonesia: Drained peatlands in Sumatra and Central/West Kalimantan.
• Papua New Guinea: Agricultural burning belts across the southern lowlands.
• Northern Australia: Large coastal brush fires.

Because tropical peat fires burn slowly underground with low oxygen, they produce huge amounts of smoke, carbon monoxide gas, and fine organic soot.

Can we do anything local to stop it?

No. Because the smoke originates thousands of miles away across international borders, local actions in Palau cannot stop the fires. The only immediate actions Palauans can take are personal protection measures:

• Limit outdoor exercise and heavy physical activity on hazy days.
• Keep doors and windows closed when possible to keep fine indoor air clean.
• Use N95-rated face masks when spending extended time outside.
• Avoid starting local brush or trash fires, which add extra smoke to our already overloaded air.

2. How Is the Haze Carried to Palau, and When Will It End?

The smoke travels to Palau on a seasonal “wind highway”.

Every year between July and October, lower-level winds shift and blow from the southwest. This year, an unusually strong El Niño weather pattern caused severe drought across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Western Pacific. The dry weather allowed forests to burn uncontrollably while drying up the heavy rainstorms that normally wash smoke out of the sky. The southwesterly winds picked up this undiluted smoke and carried it direct northeast across the Celebes and Philippine Seas straight into Palau.

When will it end?

In November, regional wind patterns undergo a seasonal shift to northeasterly trade winds. By December and through the spring, upper winds blow from the pristine, open Pacific Ocean where there are no fires. Once these trade winds return, the wind conduit bringing smoke from Indonesia will shut off, restoring Palau’s clean ocean air.

3. What Kind of Particles Are in the Haze, and How Do They Affect the Human Body?

Testing by the PAO, using advanced lasers, research balloons, and spectrometers in Koror and Malakal, revealed three main dangerous substances in our air:

• Refractory Black Carbon (Soot): Fine, dark carbon particles produced by burning wood and organic matter.
• Organic Matter Aerosols: Microscopic liquid drops and chemical compounds released from smoldering peat soils.
• Carbon Monoxide (CO): An odorless, invisible toxic gas.

Under normal conditions, rural Babeldaob has very clean air with low soot levels (about 40 nanograms per cubic meter). In August 2026, soot levels in downtown Koror spiked to 14 times higher than normal, with extreme peaks reaching 22 times higher than baseline levels.

How do these affect the human body?

• Lungs and Breathing: Fine soot particles (PM2.5) are tiny enough to bypass the body’s natural filters in the nose and throat. They travel deep into the lungs, causing coughing, throat irritation, asthma flare-ups, and bronchitis.
• Bloodstream and Heart: The smallest fine particles pass directly through lung tissue into the blood. This forces the heart to work harder, increasing the risk of irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, and heart attacks.
• Headaches and Fatigue: Elevated carbon monoxide levels reduce the blood’s ability to carry oxygen around the body, leading to dizziness, headaches, and tiredness.
• Vulnerable Groups: Children, elderly residents, pregnant women, and people with existing heart or respiratory conditions face the highest health risks.

4. What Is the Impact of Prolonged Exposure on Humans, Land Plants, and Marine Life?

Impact on Humans

Living in fine particle pollution for months strains the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Prolonged exposure can cause reduced lung capacity, permanent lung tissue damage, chronic bronchitis, and an increased risk of long-term heart and lung diseases.

Impact on Flora (Land Plants and Forests)

• Reduced Photosynthesis: Thick haze blocks natural sunlight, preventing trees and farm crops from absorbing the light energy they need to make food.
• Clogged Stomata: Fine soot settles on leaves, physically clogging the tiny pores (stomata) plants use to breathe, which slows plant growth and weakens forest health.

Impact on Fauna (Land Animals and Birds)

• Animals inhale the same fine particles, suffering respiratory distress and reduced stamina similar to humans.

Impact on Marine Life (Coral Reefs and Lagoon)

• Shading Coral Reefs: Corals rely on microscopic algae living inside them (zooxanthellae) that require sunlight to survive. Prolonged gloom from smoke reduces light penetration through lagoon waters, stressing corals.
• Ocean Surface Chemistry: As soot and chemical compounds slowly settle onto the ocean surface (wet and dry deposition), they alter the water’s local surface chemistry, potentially harming sensitive plankton and marine organisms at the base of the ocean food chain.

5. What Will Make the Haze Go Away?

The haze requires two specific weather changes to fully clear:

1. The November Wind Shift: The arrival of the seasonal monsoonal reversal. When winds turn to blow from the northeast, they will blow clean ocean air across Palau and push Indonesian smoke away from the archipelago.
2. Heavy Rainstorms (Wet Scavenging): As El Niño conditions weaken, returning tropical rainstorms over the ocean will wash soot and organic particles out of the atmosphere before they can travel far.

Until the wind direction turns next month, residents across Koror and Babeldaob are advised to take sensible precautions outdoors.

Data and observational findings sourced directly from the joint research report by the Palau Atmospheric Observatory (PAO), Coral Reef Research Foundation (CRRF), Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), University of Bremen, and Palau Community College (PCC).