T

he smoke produced by forest and peatland fires in many parts of the country has continued to intensify this week, leading to the death of another person in Riau, and severely disrupting activities at a number of airports.

A 9-year-old died on Wednesday morning in Pekanbaru, Riau while undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Ramadhani Lutfi Aerli, the victim, was admitted to the hospital after coming down with a fever and experiencing breathing difficulties.

'€œShe still went to school on Monday. She was fit at that time. However, yesterday [Tuesday] afternoon she said she was unwell,'€ Ramadhani'€™s father, Eri Wirya, told reporters on Wednesday.

Earlier, two Pekanbaru residents '€” Hanum, an elementary school student, and M. Iqbal Hadi, an employee with the Religious Affairs Ministry'€™s Riau Office '€” died due to respiratory failure allegedly triggered by the haze that has been blanketing the province for almost two months.

In response to health concerns, Riau Health Agency head Andra Sjafril has urged people to wear masks both indoors and outdoors.

'€œThe smog has already entered homes,'€ he said.

Riau, along with West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, are among the provinces hardest hit by the air pollution originating from fires in peatland and plantations.

Data from the Riau haze emergency post released on Wednesday morning showed that air quality in six out of 12 regions in Riau stood at hazardous levels.

Visibility was also limited to only 500 meters in Pekanbaru and Rengat, 300m in Dumai and 200m in Pelalawan, according to Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) spokesperson Slamet Riyadi.

Haze has also disrupted activities at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, with many flights scheduled to depart or arrive experiencing cancellations or delays since Aug. 28.

'€œWe have lost some Rp 1.5 billion (US$108,877) in potential income [from airport fees] for almost three months due to the haze,'€ the airport'€™s general affairs department head, Suwarso, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

On Friday, the Health Ministry reported that the haze crisis had caused more than 425,000 people in the worst-affected provinces to suffer from acute respiratory infections.

The disaster, meanwhile, has also been exacerbated by this year'€™s long dry season triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon, and has recently spread eastward.

Last week, local authorities also closed down Mozes Kilangin International Airport in Timika, Mimika regency, for several days due to thick haze that severely reduced visibility in the area.

Meanwhile in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, thick haze has also deteriorated visibility in the provincial capital to only 10m.

Earlier on Tuesday, the local BMKG station reported that the concentration of particulate matter (PM10) in the city stood above 3,400 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3). Authorities consider air quality '€œhazardous'€ when it surpasses 350 µg/m3.

'€œMy eyes hurt even when I stay inside the house,'€ Yossie, a local, said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Sunardi, another local, said he was even forced to send his 1-year-old child to Yogyakarta because the haze in Palangkaraya on health fears.

'€œI don'€™t like being separated from my child but I had no choice. The air [quality] in Palangkaraya is harmful, especially for infants,'€ he said.

Nethy Darma Somba in Jayapura contributed to this article