JAKARTA: More than 400,000 people have suffered from acute respiratory illnesses across several haze-hit regions, with children accounting for the largest share, as fire risks persist in parts of Kalimantan and Papua amid a delayed onset of the rainy season.
Toxic haze from forest and peatland fires has resulted in at least 425,167 cases of acute respiratory illness across seven provinces in Kalimantan and Sumatra between Aug 20 and Nov 5, according to the Health Ministry.
The provinces include Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan.
Nearly half of the cases, or 184,018, involved children aged nine or under, marking an increase of more than 37,000 cases in just two weeks.
Haze has also affected more than 56,000 elderly people across these provinces.
The increase in cases came despite a slowdown in fire hotspots in Kalimantan and Sumatra following showers over the past two weeks, although intense fire activity persisted in South Papua.
Health Ministry spokesperson Aji Muhawarman said on Sunday that the ministry had not reported any respiratory illness cases in Papua.
According to epidemiologist Dicky Budiman, repeated exposure to wildfire haze could have lasting consequences for children's respiratory and overall health.
For those living in Papua, he noted, limited health infrastructure and air quality monitoring stations in the region could hamper efforts to provide medical intervention, particularly for children.
“Papua should be a priority because of its vast and complex ecosystem, as well as its limited access to healthcare,” Dicky said on Sunday.
“We must also move beyond simply fighting the fires and start anticipating the health impacts before people become ill.”
The government has only two air quality monitoring stations in Papua: one operated by the Environment Ministry and the other by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
Data from the Forestry Ministry's Sipongi monitoring system showed that South Papua recorded 49 high-confidence hotspots between Saturday and Sunday afternoon, contrasting with the declining trend observed in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
A total of 80 high-confidence hotspots were recorded nationwide.
The weather agency has forecast that much of the archipelago is expected to enter the rainy season between late November and December, about a month later than usual because El Nino has driven up temperatures.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has shifted its firefighting focus to South Papua, while urging residents nationwide to prepare for hydrometeorological disasters, including flash floods and landslides, as rain has begun to hit several regions.
However, the distribution and intensity of rainfall remain uncertain, while prolonged dry spells could still expose vulnerable areas to renewed fires through early next year. Authorities have therefore kept land and aerial firefighting brigades on alert.
A long-range water-bombing helicopter carrying three people crashed into the Barito River in South Kalimantan on Sunday afternoon. Two crew members were rescued, while one remains missing. - Jakarta Post/ANN
