In Southeast Asia, residents grapple with life under Indonesia’s wildfire haze

Transboundary haze from Indonesia's wildfires has settled over Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and parts of Vietnam since mid-August, pushing Kuching, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore into the world's worst-air-quality rankings. Malaysia declared a state of emergency in Serian district and closed 647 schools across 12 districts, sending nearly 200,000 students to online learning; the health ministry reported asthma cases up 259% and respiratory infections up 124% in a single week.

Residents across the region describe headaches, sore throats, skin rashes in children, and canceled outdoor routines, while cities deploy air purifiers, cloud-seeding, and air-conditioned public shelters as stopgaps. The haze's source is largely land-clearing fires in Indonesia, a recurring transboundary problem with no fix in sight this telling.

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