More schools close in Indonesia due to worsening haze from forest fires

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — Schools in the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra province switched to remote learning Wednesday as worsening haze from forest and peatland fires pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels, adding to disruptions that have already affected more than 1.4 million students across the country , officials said.

Indonesia has been plagued by forest and land fires for decades but an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season made the impact of the fires especially dire this year. Toxic haze and smoke have spread far beyond Indonesia’s borders in Southeast Asia, creating a regional health crisis.

The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines , more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away, and breached Malaysia's emergency-level threshold , forcing authorities to declare an emergency last week in a town in Sarawak state on Borneo Island.

In Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra province, schools from kindergarten to junior high were ordered to start conducting classes online Wednesday under an emergency measure.

Mayor Ratu Dewa said the thickening smoke posed health risks to children, including acute respiratory infections.

“Students’ health and safety remained the government’s priority,” Dewa said. Teachers were also asked to avoid excessive assignments during the period of remote learning, he said.

The policy, affecting more than 250,000 students at 1,030 schools in Palembang, will be reviewed regularly, and in-person classes will resume once conditions improve, he said.

About 12,800 schools across Sumatra and Borneo islands remained closed as dangerous air quality persisted, according to government data.

Save the Children, a leading international non-government organization, said haze from wildfires, intensified by El Nino-driven dry conditions, has forced more than 1.4 million students into online learning in affected areas in Indonesia.

“The Earth, our home, is on fire, and children, including here in Asia, are being left to bear the consequences,” said Arshad Malik, Save the Children’s regional director for Asia. “This is not just a health or an environmental crisis, it is a child rights crisis.”

Large fires have burned thousands of hectares in Indonesia’s Kalimantan and Sumatra regions, including areas of Borneo, the world’s third-largest island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The wildfire crisis has been centered in Indonesia’s Kalimantan region on Borneo, where thousands of hectares have burned.

Satellite Environment Ministry data on Wednesday showed that Central Kalimantan remained the country’s wildfire hot spot, with 2,459 hot spots detected. South Sumatra recorded 1,445 hot spots, the second-highest number nationwide, while West Kalimantan ranked third with 928 hot spots.

Indonesian authorities have escalated firefighting efforts in several provinces as they seek to contain the blazes. The efforts have involved aircraft provided by countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, including Japan, the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada and Ukraine.

Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded more than 202,000 hectares of burned land between January and July, almost three times Singapore’s size.

Karmini reported from Jakarta.