As Indonesia’s wildfires rage, haze spreads farther across Southeast Asia

Haze from Indonesian wildfires has spread across Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei this week, with Singapore hitting the third-worst air quality globally on September 4 and Kuching, Malaysia topping the world rankings. Firewatch detected more than 444,200 fire hotspots across Indonesia as of September 3, a 4.5-fold jump from late July, as a 'super' El Niño keeps conditions dry.

Indonesian officials and environmental groups say the fires are deliberately set, with roughly half of hotspots in West and Central Kalimantan occurring on oil palm and timber concessions, including one belonging to a company already found liable a decade ago for destroying 20,000 hectares. Malaysia's health ministry reported asthma cases up 259% and respiratory infections up 124% in a single week.

Indonesia's health ministry recorded over 50,000 acute respiratory infection cases in July and August, and two volunteer firefighters in Central Kalimantan died this week after breathing difficulties. Rescuers found snake and pangolin carcasses in burned areas, and a Borneo orangutan rescued from a plantation later died of suspected smoke inhalation.

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