Borneo Burning: Wildfire Haze Threatens Health Across Indonesia and Neighbouring Countries
Forest and peatland fires in Indonesian Kalimantan on the island of Borneo have burned about 1.9 million hectares this year, and the toxic haze has reached Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. By mid-October, Indonesia's Health Ministry had recorded more than 277,000 respiratory cases.
Forest, swamp and peatland fires have been burning for months in Central Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, blanketing much of Southeast Asia in toxic haze. According to the open-access satellite platform Nusantara Atlas, about 1.9 million hectares have burned across Indonesia since the start of the year, one million of them in September alone. That is roughly the size of the US state of New Jersey or the whole of Fiji. The haze has drifted as far as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Health impact
By mid-October, Indonesia's Health Ministry had recorded more than 277,000 cases of chronic cough and acute respiratory infection, over 62,000 of them in children under five. The microparticles in smoke can penetrate deep into the lungs and sometimes the bloodstream, causing inflammation, chronic lung disease and a higher risk of premature death. Children, older adults and pregnant women are the most vulnerable.
Dianyra Eka Nastiti, a mother of three in Palangkaraya, says her baby was hospitalised with bronchopneumonia at six weeks old and she now worries about the child's cough. She considers official advice to stay indoors unrealistic, since food and other necessities must still be bought. Many children are studying online, while farmers, daily-wage earners and small vendors must either lose income or risk going outside.
Difficulties in extinguishing the fires
The government faces public criticism over what many see as an inadequate response. Authorities say they have used aerial waterbombing and experimental weather modification, and last week reported deploying more than 60,000 personnel in a land operation, claiming an 80% success rate in putting out new fires.
Firefighters say peat fires are especially hard to control: flames may be out on the surface while fires smoulder underground. Firefighter Fauzi Rahman says that on regular land a team can clear 20 hectares a day, while on peatland it can take months and require large amounts of water, which is now scarce. A so-called Super El Nino has deepened the drought and delayed the rains. Peatland researcher Nisa Novita warns that fires are also appearing in areas with no previous history of burning.
