Gasping for air: Borneo residents struggle as island burns

Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that spread through vegetation and land. Haze is the thick, polluted air created when smoke and other emissions build up over an area. This matters because people may need to breathe that air for days or months, especially while working or traveling outdoors.

In Indonesian Borneo, the smoke contained formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and PM2.5 particles. PM2.5 is small enough to pass deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. That makes it more dangerous than larger particles that the body can filter more easily.

The health effects were already severe. More than 300,000 people in seven Indonesian provinces developed respiratory infections between August and October. The World Health Organization has linked PM2.5 exposure to increased illness and death. Shelters, oxygen buses and treatment facilities were providing help, but residents still faced unsafe air.

The wildfire crisis affected people across Indonesia, not just isolated fire zones. Indonesia’s health ministry reported more than 300,000 people treated for respiratory tract infections across seven provinces from August to October. These figures show how widely the haze affected public health.

Palangkaraya, in Central Kalimantan, recorded more than 11,000 people treated for respiratory infections during the months-long crisis. The fires also reached a vast area. Deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas reported that blazes consumed more than 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September.

The government did not confirm or dispute the 1.9-million-hectare estimate. Nearly 500 facilities nationwide offered free oxygen and treatment for haze-related illnesses, including almost 300 in Central Kalimantan. The scale of illness and burned land shows why the crisis became both a local emergency and a regional concern.

Toxic haze can irritate the eyes and throat and make breathing difficult. The article describes burning eyes, sore throats, coughs, headaches and respiratory infections among residents. These effects can disrupt ordinary life, including commuting, working and earning a living.

PM2.5 particles are especially harmful because they are extremely small. They can penetrate deep into the lungs and may pass into the bloodstream. The smoke also contains formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, which add harmful chemical pollution to the air people breathe.

The health ministry reported more than 300,000 respiratory tract infections across seven provinces from August to October. In Palangkaraya, more than 11,000 people received treatment. The World Health Organization has linked PM2.5 exposure to increased illness and death, making prolonged haze a serious public-health threat.

Fires and haze persisted for months across Central Kalimantan and other parts of Indonesian Borneo. The article reports that Indonesia struggled to contain the blazes, which continued close to homes and affected people’s ability to work safely. It does not identify one confirmed cause for why the fires lasted so long.

The fires burned a very large area. Nusantara Atlas, a deforestation monitor, estimated that more than 1.9 million hectares had been consumed in nine months. The Indonesian government neither confirmed nor disputed that figure. Sudarsono’s backyard in Palangkaraya was left blackened, showing how fires reached residential areas.

By the time of the report, smoke still surrounded communities and caused widespread illness. Authorities had created treatment facilities and oxygen buses, but residents remained exposed. The article also reports sporadic anti-government protests, showing growing frustration over the prolonged crisis and the difficulty of restoring clean air.

Indonesia’s government and local authorities have the main public responsibility for preventing fires, limiting their spread and protecting residents. The article describes a government struggling to contain months of blazes. It also reports sporadic anti-government protests and diplomatic objections from neighboring countries.

The response focused strongly on health care. The health ministry established nearly 500 facilities nationwide offering free oxygen and treatment for haze-related illnesses. Almost 300 were in Central Kalimantan. Local authorities also sent buses carrying oxygen tanks around Palangkaraya, while nongovernmental organizations operated a nearby shelter.

Residents also took direct action. Sudarsono and three friends went out to fight fires near homes, but he became ill from the smoke and needed hospital treatment. These efforts offered immediate help, yet they did not end the crisis. Continued fires show that emergency care alone cannot restore safe air or prevent further exposure.

Wildfire smoke did not remain within Indonesia. Toxic haze from the fires spread pollution into neighboring countries, where people were also forced to breathe foul air. This turned a domestic fire emergency into a regional environmental and health problem across Southeast Asia.

The article does not name the neighboring countries or quantify their health impacts. It does report diplomatic objections from those countries. Their complaints reflected concern about pollution crossing borders and about Indonesia’s difficulty containing the fires.

The regional pressure added to growing anger inside Indonesia. Sporadic anti-government protests took place as patience ran thin at home. Indonesia’s authorities were providing oxygen and medical treatment, but those measures could not immediately stop pollution reaching neighboring states. Continued fires therefore threatened both public health and relations with countries affected by the haze.

Peatlands are wetlands whose waterlogged soils contain partly decayed plant material. Forests are areas dominated by trees and other vegetation. Land-clearing practices remove that vegetation, sometimes by cutting or burning it. These concepts matter because fires in carbon-rich or densely vegetated landscapes can create far more smoke than a small surface fire.

The article itself does not mention peatlands or describe specific land-clearing methods. Established environmental knowledge explains the mechanism: dry vegetation burns readily, while exposed peat can smolder below the surface. Such fires are difficult to extinguish and can continue releasing thick smoke even when flames are less visible.

That background helps explain why haze can persist, but it is not a cause confirmed by this article. The reported fires consumed more than 1.9 million hectares, while toxic smoke affected residents and neighboring countries. Preventing repeated burning and restoring safe conditions would require action beyond emergency medical treatment.