Indonesia's wildfire haze drives sharp rise in respiratory illnesses and prompts regional aid

Indonesia's health ministry disclosed that cases of respiratory infection tied to wildfire pollution have more than doubled within a little over a week, as fires rage across large swaths of forest and peatland on Sumatra and Borneo. The haze has reached more than twelve million residents in seven provinces, leading authorities to distribute millions of masks, hundreds of oxygen concentrators and to send thousands of health workers to the worst-affected areas.

The ministry spokesperson emphasized ongoing monitoring and the dispatch of additional medical personnel where needed. Unhealthy air quality has also been recorded in Singapore and Malaysia due to the transboundary haze. To bolster firefighting efforts, Japan deployed three CH-47 Chinook helicopters for water-bombing trials, and Malaysia has offered its own aerial resources, with Jakarta coordinating inter-agency discussions on the assistance.