Wildfires cause respiratory infections to double in Indonesia
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Thick, pungent smoke from forest and land fires blanketing the city of Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan on Sept 6.
PHOTO: AFP
- Respiratory infections in Indonesia have more than doubled due to hazardous wildfire pollution, with over 113,000 cases reported as of Sept 9 and more than 12.5 million people exposed to haze.
- The 2026 wildfire season is the worst in 11 years, driven by a "super El Nino" causing droughts and fires that emit a third of the world's total pollution.
- International aid includes Japan sending helicopters for water bombing and Malaysia offering aerial firefighting, while Indonesia deploys medical teams and supplies to affected areas.
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JAKARTA – Respiratory infections caused by hazardous wildfire pollution in Indonesia have more than doubled in just over a week, data from the country’s Health Ministry showed on Sept 10.
Fires have been blazing across vast stretches of forest and peatland throughout the country, causing hazardous emissions to surge, particularly in the hardest-hit provinces on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
