OMM Newsroom
Smog has shrouded parts of Indonesian Borneo for months, turning the daylight rust-coloured and leaving residents fearful of the effects on their health. In Palangkaraya, mother-of-three Dianyra Eka Nastiti says she worries each night when her baby’s chest makes a rattling sound.
Her daughter was hospitalised with bronchopneumonia at just six weeks old. “Every single night I worry: Will my child cough tomorrow?” Nastiti told the BBC.
Wildfires have burned about 1.9 million hectares across Indonesia since the start of the year, according to the open-access satellite platform Nusantara Atlas. That is roughly the size of the US state of New Jersey or the entire nation of Fiji. An estimated one million hectares burned in September alone.
The fires have sent smoke and pollutants from forest, swamp and peatland fires across Indonesia and as far as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. The resulting haze contains microparticles and carbon monoxide.
By mid-October, Indonesia’s Health Ministry had recorded more than 277,000 cases of chronic coughs and acute respiratory infections. More than 62,000 of those affected were infants and children under five.
Natari Victoria, 22, was admitted to a health centre in Palangkaraya after coughing for more than a week. She said young cousins, including babies, were coughing too, and that the fires had taken a toll on people’s health.
Haze from peat fires contains a complex mix of pollutants. Tiny particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and sometimes enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation, chronic lung disease and an increased risk of premature death. The fires also release greenhouse gases.
Riduan, head of the Palangkaraya Health Office, said the sky had turned yellow and hazy. Residents were breathing carbon dioxide and pollutants rather than fresh oxygen, he said, adding that this could leave the body, particularly the brain, without enough oxygen.
Children, older adults and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable, with the effects of exposure potentially accumulating over time. Official advice in affected areas such as Palangkaraya is to stay indoors and avoid going out.
Nastiti said that was difficult to follow because she still had to buy vegetables and food, get school supplies and take care of other necessities. When the haze becomes heavy, however, she brings her children inside. She said they should be playing outside and going to school, but instead were confined to the house.
Lola Macitri, 37, lives in the rural village of Ramang, 50km (31 miles) north of Palangkaraya. As the smog has thickened in recent weeks, changing from dusty grey to amber yellow and then burnt orange, she and her family have spent most of their time indoors.
Macitri said her children and others in haze-affected parts of Indonesia had been taking classes online. Adults, meanwhile, were trying to manage half a day’s work in the polluted air. Farmers, day labourers and small vendors have had to choose between giving up their livelihoods and going outside despite the risks.
“Of course we are afraid of the health risks. But where else can we go?” Macitri said. “We just have to endure and stay strong through this situation, because there is simply no other option.”
Authorities deploy more than 60,000 personnel
The government is facing growing public pressure to do more to stop the fires, with critics describing the authorities’ response as inadequate. Officials say they have taken steps including aerial waterbombing and experimental weather modification.
Last week, the Indonesian government said it had deployed more than 60,000 personnel for a land operation and claimed an 80% success rate in extinguishing new fires.
Dr Nisa Novita, a forestry expert and peatland researcher at Indonesian conservation NGO Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), said every safe and effective option should be used to suppress the fires. She compared the effort to trying to save a sinking ship, saying urgent action was needed to prevent further damage.
Firefighters’ resources are running low. Juni has spent more than 100 days fighting fires that appear to ease on the surface but continue burning underground through vegetation and peat. He described exhaustion, shortness of breath, a persistent cough and ongoing eye pain, and said he needed “air”.
“The haze makes it hard to breathe,” he said, adding that firefighters were hoping for heavy rain. Thousands of people across Indonesia and Southeast Asia have also been waiting for rain.
Seasonal fires are not new in Indonesia, but a so-called Super El Nino has intensified drought and delayed rainfall that is critical to putting out peat fires. The conditions have made firefighting harder, while prolonged drought has made water increasingly scarce, Novita said.
Fauzi Rahman, a firefighter in Palangkaraya, said peatland fires require large amounts of water and take a long time to extinguish. On regular land, a large team can clear 20 hectares in a day, he said, while peatland fires can take months. Water must be injected deep into the ground, but it is currently difficult to find.
Novita said her team had also reported fires spreading into areas with no previous history of fire. This means fires are appearing not only in the usual hotspots but in new areas as well.
Riduan told the BBC he hoped that the efforts of the community, military and police would put out the fires. “However, as of right now, the fires are still burning,” he said. “Our greatest hope is that Almighty God will bring us rain soon.”
