Indonesia's haze sickens more than 170,000 as fires rage across Borneo, Sumatra and Papua

More than 170,000 cases of acute respiratory infection have been recorded in haze-hit regions of Indonesia, health ministry official Then Suyanti said at a news conference on Tuesday, as the country battles weeks of forest and land fires that caused the toxic smog.

“There were 174,694 cases of acute respiratory infections between August and September 21 in areas affected by forest and land fires,” Suyanti said. More than 40,000 of the cases involved toddlers. The total, reported across seven haze-affected provinces, is up sharply from more than 113,000 cases recorded as of September 9, CNA and Arab News reported.

Blazes in Borneo, Sumatra and Papua have blanketed parts of the vast archipelago of more than 280 million people — as well as neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore — sending air quality indices plummeting. The smog contains PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can carry health risks such as respiratory infections, Suyanti said.

The health ministry has mobilised oxygen concentrators, face masks and oxygen canisters to the affected regions. “We advise (the public) to reduce outdoor activities when air quality worsen, use mask and maintain hydration,” Suyanti said.

Indonesia regularly battles wildfires during the dry season, which typically runs from July to October, but the blazes are more intense this year, coinciding with what is expected to be the strongest El Niño climate phenomenon in about four decades. Experts also blame climate change, decades of forest degradation and slash-and-burn land-clearing practices.