Over 3,500 dead in September as Indonesia wildfires fuel air pollution crisis

More than 3,500 people are estimated to have died from air pollution in Indonesia in September alone, as the country battles its worst wildfires in 11 years.

The Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) estimated in a recent report that approximately 3,560 people died in September from exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) caused by the wildfires — roughly double the August estimate, according to AFP and Xinhua.

The damage has spread beyond Borneo and Sumatra, where the fires are concentrated, reaching Java and eastern regions as haze drifted across the archipelago. In the four Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, more than 90 percent of air pollution-related deaths were attributed to wildfire smoke.

CREA's analysis found that fine particulate exposure levels across Indonesia in September exceeded the WHO's annual recommended guideline by more than seven times. The figure reached 10 times the limit in Sumatra and as high as 24 times in Kalimantan.

Respiratory illnesses linked to the fires are also rising rapidly. Indonesia's Health Ministry recorded 333,000 cases through Oct. 21. The government has deployed 72,000 personnel for firefighting and cloud-seeding operations, stationed 2,100 medical workers in affected areas, and distributed about 5.3 million masks.

Dry conditions driven by El Niño this year have pushed Indonesia's wildfire damage to its worst level since 2015. The Nusantara Atlas forest monitoring platform estimated, based on satellite data, that wildfires burned 1,916,588 hectares between January and September — about 32 times the area of Seoul.

Smoke crossing national borders has also degraded air quality in neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.

Meanwhile, anti-government protests over the authorities' handling of the crisis have continued in Indonesia. About 1,000 university students and civic group members rallied in Jakarta on Wednesday, demanding the government declare a national disaster and punish companies responsible for the fires. Similar demonstrations took place in Makassar, Bandung and other cities.