The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsWildfires cause respiratory infections to double in Indonesia
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.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
A drone view shows the Ampera Bridge shrouded in haze from forest fires in Palembang, South Sumatra on September 6, 2026. (Reuters/Abriansyah Liberto)
R
espiratory 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 Thursday.
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.
This year's wildfire season is the most intense in 11 years as "super-El Niño" weather conditions drive up temperatures and cause punishing droughts. Fire emissions from the country now account for a third of the global total.
The number of people suffering from wildfire-related respiratory illnesses rose to 113,336 as of September 9, up from 50,891 on September 1, according to figures presented by health ministry spokesperson Widyawati during a press conference.
More than 12.5 million people have been exposed to haze caused by fires across seven provinces, said Widyawati.
Nearly a million masks and hundreds of oxygen concentrator units have been sent to help residents cope with the pollution, and thousands of medical workers have been deployed to affected areas, she said.
"The process of deploying additional medical personnel and various supplies is ongoing. We will continue to monitor which areas require more healthcare workers and dispatch them there."
