Wildfires fueled by El Niño are choking large parts of Indonesia, with officials warning on Wednesday that millions of residents face serious health risks from the thick haze blanketing cities and towns across Borneo and Sumatra. The blazes, which have raged for weeks, have forced school closures, overwhelmed local health services, and sent smoke drifting into neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
Indonesia's health ministry reported that 3.4 million people living in seven provinces on Borneo and Sumatra are at risk of acute respiratory infections due to prolonged exposure to the toxic air. In Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province on Sumatra, the smog has become so dense that authorities have shut dozens of schools and urged residents to remain indoors.
“The smog gets thicker at night, making Pekanbaru almost like a dead city. A lot of people don't dare go out. And if they do, they wear masks,” said Abdullah, a 38-year-old entrepreneur, speaking to AFP. “My eyes sting so badly. When I go outside, it really feels like breathing in the smoke from freshly burned trash,” he added, echoing the experience of many in the region.
Health crisis spreads across Sumatra and Borneo
In Jambi, also on Sumatra, 31-year-old homemaker Farida said the haze has already taken a toll on her family. “My four-year-old child and I have begun coughing so much, especially when we stay outdoors too long,” she told AFP. “I have trouble breathing.” The local government has ordered home schooling for kindergarten and elementary school children for the rest of the week.
The health ministry has distributed more than 260,000 face masks to residents in the worst-affected areas. On Tuesday, President Prabowo Subianto said the government had deployed dozens of helicopters, aircraft, water pumps, and thousands of personnel to combat the fires. “Now I think it has begun to be brought under control, mitigated. In several places, I believe, and I hope that within the next one to two weeks everything can be resolved,” he said.
Most wildfires are attributed to slash-and-burn practices used to clear land for agriculture. Police said over the weekend they had arrested 72 people on suspicion of starting fires. According to government data released last week, fires between January and July burned more than 200,000 hectares of land—an area three times the size of Jakarta. That already exceeds the damage recorded during previous El Niño seasons in 2019 and 2023.
The El Niño weather pattern, which triggers shifts in winds, atmospheric pressure, and rainfall across the globe, has exacerbated the dry conditions that allow fires to spread rapidly. The impact is not confined to Indonesia. Malaysia has said it stands ready to help extinguish the blazes, and poor air quality in Sarawak state on Borneo—which Malaysia shares with Indonesia and Brunei—led to nearly 600 schools being closed last week. At one point on Wednesday morning, air quality tracker IQ Air ranked Kuala Lumpur as the world's second most polluted city.
The crisis echoes similar episodes in recent years, when Indonesian wildfires have caused regional diplomatic tensions and severe health emergencies. As climate change intensifies El Niño cycles, such events are likely to become more frequent and more destructive, posing a growing challenge not only for Southeast Asia but for global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
For now, residents of Pekanbaru and Jambi are left to cope with the immediate dangers. “We just hope the rain comes soon,” said Abdullah, echoing a sentiment shared by many across the archipelago. The government's promise of a resolution within two weeks offers some hope, but the long-term need for sustainable land management and fire prevention remains urgent.
