Fire pollution killed 3,560 people in Indonesia in September

Smoke from forest and land fires is estimated to have caused about 3,560 deaths in Indonesia in September alone, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based research group. The findings were reported on Friday (October 30) by Arab News.

Including pollution from other sources, the group puts total air-pollution deaths for the month at around 5,310. Those other sources, such as urban emissions, industry and transport, were responsible for roughly 1,750 deaths. CREA also estimates that about 57.8 million people lived with air quality ranging from unhealthy to hazardous during the month.

Months of burning across forests and peatlands have sharply worsened the country’s air. As a result, the estimated number of smoke-related deaths in September was nearly double the August figure, the researchers said.

The study counts deaths linked to short-term exposure to PM2.5, fine particles small enough to travel deep into the lungs and the bloodstream. They can trigger respiratory and heart problems and raise the risk of death.

The Indonesian part of Borneo was hit hardest by the smoke. Java and Sumatra, as well as the country’s east, also recorded a significant toll.

With roughly 278 million people, Indonesia faces what the findings describe as a serious public-health crisis. The effects of the fires, the report suggests, reach well beyond environmental damage and put a very large number of lives at risk.