Haze and smoke from peat fires carry a complex mixture of pollutants that present serious health risks to the human body.
These include microscopic particles capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and, in some instances, entering the bloodstream, potentially causing inflammation, chronic lung diseases, and an increased risk of premature death.
A further concern involves toxic greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.
“Here in Central Kalimantan, especially in Palangkaraya, the sky has turned yellow and hazy,” says Riduan, head of the Palangkaraya Health Office. “Residents are breathing carbon dioxide and pollutants, not fresh oxygen; as a result, the body—specifically the brain—is deprived of adequate oxygen.”
Children, older adults, and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the hazards of haze, particularly during extended exposure when health impacts may accumulate.
Official advice in areas such as Palangkaraya urges residents to stay indoors and avoid going outside. However, Dastiti considers this unrealistic.
“I still need to buy vegetables, stock up on food, purchase school supplies, and attend to other necessities,” she explains. “It is simply not possible, and I feel those who suggest otherwise have no idea what is actually happening here.”
Dastiti’s primary priority remains the health and wellbeing of her children. When the haze intensifies, she promptly keeps them indoors.
“With conditions this unsafe,” she says, “our young children should be at the park, playing with friends and attending school. Instead, they are confined inside the house.”
Lola Macitri, 37, of the rural village of Ramang, 50km (31 miles) north of Palangkaraya, has been similarly housebound. As smog has deepened over recent weeks—shifting from dusty grey to amber yellow and more recently to burnt orange—she and her family have spent most of their time indoors.
Her children, like many others in Indonesia’s more haze-affected regions, have been attending classes online, she says, while she and other adults struggle to complete half a day’s work in the poisonous air.
Lola Macitri, 37, of the rural village of Ramang, 50km (31 miles) north of Palangkaraya, has been similarly housebound. As smog has deepened over recent weeks—shifting from dusty grey to amber yellow and more recently to burnt orange—she and her family have spent most of their time indoors.
