Forest fires in Indonesia trigger sharp rise in respiratory illnesses — The Japan Times
In Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, forest fires and thick haze have worsened air quality and led to an increase in visits for respiratory illnesses. The province, where the city of Pontianak is located on the island of Borneo, is one of the areas most severely affected by the fires. Air pollution levels there often reach dangerous levels.
As The Japan Times reports, more than 12.5 million people have been exposed to smoke from fires in seven provinces on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, the number of fire-related respiratory illness cases more than doubled, from 50,891 as of September 1 to 113,336 as of September 9.
Visits to medical professionals
Popong Solihat, head of a medical center in Pontianak, said that the number of visits for respiratory illnesses is rising because of the fires. During the first 11 days of September, his facility recorded 187 cases of breathing problems, compared with 422 such cases throughout all of August. According to him, the daily number of visits can now range from 80 to 120.
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Volunteers in West Kalimantan are going door to door and delivering oxygen cylinders to residents and firefighters who are struggling to breathe because of the smoke. The campaign is called Rumah Oksigen, or “Oxygen House.”
Scale of the fires
Indonesia is experiencing its most intense forest fires in 11 years. The report notes that “super El Niño” weather conditions are raising temperatures and causing severe drought. Smoke from the fires has also worsened air quality in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
According to government data, fires affected 202,000 hectares of land from January through July. Environmental organization YKAN estimated that an additional 600,000 hectares of land were damaged by fire in August. Indonesia deployed more than 50 aircraft for water drops and cloud seeding, while Japan sent three CH-47 Chinook helicopters and 180 crew members to help fight the fires.
