The smoke affected a large number of people in the region. A study by Harvard University researchers in 2016 estimated that the 2015 pollution from intense fires located close to population centers caused up to 100,000 premature deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Local environmentalists also predicted that the disaster caused around half a million cases of acute respiratory infection. 

Four years later, the Supreme Court upheld rulings by lower courts in favor of a civil lawsuit that sought to lay the blame on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his Cabinet ministers, as well as regional administrations, for failing to control wildfires on Sumatra and in Kalimantan in 2015.

The lawsuit - filed by environmentalists and citizens residing in Central Kalimantan who were among the most affected by the disaster - urged the government and regional administrations to take responsibility for the wildfires, as well as for the treatment of survivors.

Supreme Court spokesman Abdullah told journalists on Friday that the court justices rejected the government’s appeal against the Palangkaraya High Court's earlier decision in favor of the plaintiffs.

“The conclusion is the government should fulfill its obligation to protect its citizens against the disaster. It should work on necessary efforts to stop wildfires from happening,” he said.

According to the ruling upheld by the Supreme Court justices, the court ordered the President - along with the environment and forestry minister, health minister and Central Kalimantan governor - to build a lung hospital that provides free treatment for the 2015 haze victims. It also orders other hospitals in the province to provide free treatment for the victims.