By Salma El-Sakka
Smoke from wildfires killed an estimated 3,560 people in Indonesia in September, accounting for about two-thirds of the 5,310 total air pollution deaths that month, according to a study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The figure is double the August estimate and represents a 42% increase from 3,740 total air pollution deaths in August.
Death toll and pollution sources
The Helsinki-based think tank estimated deaths from short-term exposure to PM2.5, giving a range of 4,610 to 6,080 for total air pollution deaths in September. Fire smoke contributed 94-99% of air pollution deaths in four Kalimantan provinces and over 80% in several Sumatran provinces. On Java, 73-80% of the 1,530 air pollution deaths came from non-fire sources such as industry, vehicles and waste burning.
Air quality crisis
A record 57.8 million people breathed air classified as unhealthy to hazardous in September, a 40% increase from August. In Central Kalimantan, the number exposed to hazardous air nearly tripled to 6.4 million on the worst days. Average daily PM2.5 reached 372 micrograms per cubic metre in Palangka Raya and 327 in Pontianak, far exceeding Indonesia's hazardous threshold of 300 and 22-25 times the WHO's 24-hour limit of 15.
Health impacts
Indonesia's health ministry recorded 333,470 acute respiratory infections across seven provinces by 21 October, up from 283,270 on 13 October and more than six times the July-August figure. Children under five accounted for 75,172 cases, nearly a quarter of the total.
Government response and funding
The government deployed over 72,000 personnel for cloud seeding and firefighting, activated 2,100 health workers and distributed 5.3 million masks. However, CREA noted the national disaster agency's budget was cut by 75% for 2026, from 2 trillion rupiah (£90m) to 491 billion rupiah (£22m), leaving operations severely underfunded.
Policy criticism and emergency declaration
President Prabowo Subianto has not declared a national emergency despite calls from parliament, environmental groups and student protesters. Officials argue regional capacity has not completely collapsed. CREA said a national declaration would make Indonesia liable for transboundary haze, potentially damaging palm oil and pulp exports and shifting financial burden to the central treasury.
Fire causes and regional spread
Fires started by farmers and plantation workers clearing land, worsened by drought and El Nino, have burned over 1.9 million hectares in the nine months to September, according to Nusantara Atlas. Smoke has spread to Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and East Timor, straining relations. Indonesia cut gas exports to Singapore, and Singapore served legal notices on Indonesian companies blamed for the fires.
