Indonesian wildfires cause respiratory infections to double in a week, health ministry says

Jakarta, Indonesia - The number of respiratory infections linked to hazardous wildfire pollution has more than doubled in just seven days, according to figures from the country's health ministry. Intense wildfires have been raging across Indonesia's vast forests and peatlands, releasing hazardous emissions that have spiked, particularly in the provinces of Sumatra and Borneo.

This year's wildfire season is the most severe in 11 years due to the intensified "super-El Nino" weather, causing record temperatures and devastating droughts. Fire emissions from Indonesia now constitute one-third of the global total.

As of September 9, 113,336 people have been affected by wildfire-related respiratory illnesses, compared to 50,891 on September 1, reported health ministry spokesperson Widyawati during a press conference. Over 12.5 million people have been exposed to haze from the fires across seven provinces, she added. To aid the affected residents, more than a million masks and hundreds of oxygen concentrator units have been distributed, and thousands of medical workers have been dispatched to the impacted areas.

The deployment of additional medical personnel and supplies is ongoing, with efforts to identify and assist areas in need of more healthcare professionals.

Neighboring Singapore and Malaysia have also experienced unhealthy air quality levels due to transboundary haze. Japan has sent three CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Indonesia to assist the military in conducting water bombing operations, beginning either on Friday or Saturday in West Kalimantan on Borneo. Malaysia, sharing a land border with Indonesia on Borneo, has offered its aerial firefighting capabilities, with Jakarta currently coordinating with Malaysia to discuss the offer.

From January to July this year, fires burned around 202,000 hectares of land, with another estimated 600,000 hectares damaged by fires in August.