Indonesian city runs free oxygen buses as country's worst fires in over decade choke residents

Free oxygen buses are mobile health stations that bring oxygen support directly to residents during severe haze. They matter because smoke can make breathing difficult, especially for people already experiencing respiratory problems. The service removes cost and travel barriers during an air-quality emergency.

Palangka Raya launched the service on October 16 with two buses. Each carried seven oxygen cylinders. Medical staff recorded patients’ details and fitted a small oxygen tube around the nose for five to 10 minutes. Residents described coughing, tightness, sore throats, and breathing difficulties.

The fleet later grew to four city buses. The provincial government also converted four education-department buses for free oxygen services. The health ministry said nearly 500 facilities nationwide offered free oxygen and treatment for haze-related ailments, including nearly 300 in Central Kalimantan. The buses provide immediate relief, but the wider problem remains the fires and hazardous air.

The pollution in Palangka Raya reached an extreme level. A monitoring station recorded an index reading of 4,055 on October 13. That was more than 13 times the hazardous threshold of 300, showing how far conditions had moved beyond ordinary dangerous air.

The article describes the index as a scale where readings of 300 or more count as hazardous. Parts of Borneo and Sumatra recorded readings above 1,000. The Palangka Raya measurement was the highest in Indonesia that day, according to news portal Detik.

Such readings help explain why residents reported coughing, tight breathing, burning eyes, and sore throats. They also explain the emergency response, including free oxygen buses and treatment centers. Rain on October 26 and 27 brought some relief. Palangka Raya’s air remained hazardous until 6 a.m. on October 27, then improved to unhealthy from 7 a.m.

The fires covered an enormous area and produced a major public-health crisis. Deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas estimated that about 1.9 million hectares were affected during the first nine months of the year. The government had neither confirmed nor disputed that figure.

The health ministry reported about 350,000 respiratory-illness cases linked to the fires from August through October 25. Central Kalimantan alone recorded about 31,000 cases by October 25. These figures show that the haze was not only an environmental problem; it was affecting people across the country.

Indonesia regularly faces seasonal forest fires, especially on Sumatra and Borneo. This year, intense El Niño conditions raised temperatures and left forests and peatlands more vulnerable to burning. Authorities opened nearly 500 facilities nationwide for free oxygen and treatment, with nearly 300 in Central Kalimantan. Rain later brought temporary improvement to Palangka Raya’s air.

Smoke from forest and peatland fires can irritate the airways and eyes. In the article, residents reported coughing, trouble breathing, chest tightness, red and burning eyes, and sore throats. These symptoms show how haze can affect both breathing and other exposed parts of the body.

Purnasari said she felt tightness and coughing after going outside. Siti Jumiati described long-lasting burning eyes, a sore throat, and a cough. Many people who visited an oxygen bus were coughing or having trouble breathing. Medical staff provided short periods of oxygen support and recorded patients’ details.

The scale of illness was substantial. The health ministry counted about 350,000 respiratory-illness cases connected to the fires from August to October 25. Central Kalimantan reported about 31,000 cases. Nearly 500 facilities nationwide offered free oxygen and treatment. Improving air quality may reduce exposure, but the article does not state how quickly all symptoms resolve.

El Niño made this year’s fires more likely by driving temperatures higher. The article directly links the intense event to forests and peatlands becoming more vulnerable to blazes. In a hotter fire season, the landscape can more easily support the spread of fires and the production of haze.

Indonesia regularly battles seasonal forest fires, mainly on Sumatra and Borneo. This year, the hotter conditions affected both forests and peatlands. The fires turned skies orange across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. They also pushed pollution readings above 1,000 in parts of Borneo and Sumatra.

The consequences were widespread. About 1.9 million hectares were affected in the first nine months, according to Nusantara Atlas. Fire-related respiratory illnesses reached about 350,000 cases nationwide by October 25. Rain later improved Palangka Raya’s air, but the article gives no forecast for how long the wider fire danger would last.

A peatland is a wet landscape where partly decayed plants accumulate as peat. This definition is established environmental knowledge and is not explained in the article. Peat can store a large amount of carbon-rich plant material beneath the surface, making peatland fires different from many ordinary vegetation fires.

When peatlands dry, the buried material can ignite and burn below ground. Smoldering peat may continue burning even when flames are limited. It can release thick smoke over an extended period, helping create persistent haze. The article specifically says this year’s higher temperatures left peatlands more vulnerable to blazes.

Indonesia’s seasonal fires mainly affect Sumatra and Borneo. The resulting haze contributed to dangerous pollution, respiratory illness, and orange skies across three countries. Palangka Raya recorded 4,055 on the air-quality index, while the hazardous threshold was 300. Rain brought some relief, but the article does not say that all peat fires were extinguished.

Rain can improve air quality after wildfire haze by removing some smoke particles from the air. Raindrops capture airborne pollution and bring it toward the ground. This explanation uses established environmental knowledge; the article itself reports the timing of rain and the later improvement in air readings.

In Palangka Raya, rain fell on October 26 and 27. Air quality remained hazardous until 6 a.m. on October 27. It improved to unhealthy from 7 a.m., according to Neng Arini of the BMKG weather agency’s Tjilik Riwut station. The change followed the rainfall.

Rain can therefore provide short-term relief, but it does not automatically end every fire. The article does not state that the fires were extinguished. Residents still faced health effects, and the city continued offering free oxygen. Longer-term conditions would depend on whether burning continued and whether further rain arrived.