According to Indonesia's health ministry, more than 300,000 people in seven provinces suffered respiratory tract infections from August to October.
Key takeaways
Months of wildfires in Borneo have caused severe haze, leading to respiratory illnesses for over 300,000 people across seven Indonesian provinces. Residents in Central Kalimantan report health crises and livelihood disruptions as smoke continues to affect the region and neighboring countries.
- Over 300,000 people in seven provinces suffered respiratory infections from August to October.
- More than 11,000 individuals in Palangkaraya were treated for respiratory issues during the crisis.
- Wildfires have blackened local areas and disrupted residents' ability to work and earn a living.
Summarised automatically by AI from the original article by Free Malaysia Today. AI can make mistakes, so check the original for details.
A resident receives oxygen at the Oxygen House, which provides oxygen to people affected by toxic wildfire haze in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. (EPA Images pic)PALANGKARAYA: Sudarsono shuddered as he inhaled from an oxygen tank while being evacuated from his small house in Palangkaraya on Indonesian Borneo, yellow, acrid wildfire smoke billowing all around.
The 57-year-old fell sick after going out with three friends days earlier to fight fires creeping closer to homes on the outskirts of the city in Central Kalimantan province, one of the regions hit hardest by months of blazes and haze.
"I wore a mask, goggles, everything, but I was surrounded by smoke. I went home since I couldn't take it anymore," the construction worker and farmer told AFP as he was being loaded into an ambulance to go to hospital last week.
