Indonesia Haze Crisis Called Worst in 11 Years as 12M+ People Exposed, Singapore Air Improves

A TIME feature published Sept. 17 characterized Indonesia's wildfire and haze crisis as the worst in 11 years, with fires burning for weeks across seven provinces on Borneo and Sumatra and more than 12 million people exposed to smog. Acute respiratory infection cases across the two islands surged from 50,891 on Sept. 1 to 113,336 by Sept. 9 — more than double in a week — with children under 5 accounting for nearly a quarter of cases; Central Kalimantan recorded a hazardous air quality index of 1,919 on Sept. 2. Indonesia has deployed more than 50 aircraft for water-bombing and cloud-seeding, Japan sent three CH-47 Chinook helicopters to assist, and authorities placed 112 people under investigation while suspending licenses at five companies over the fires. Malaysia has closed 647 schools nationwide, affecting roughly 200,000 students, and Verisk Maplecroft warned the crisis, layered on economic shocks, could trigger food insecurity and civil unrest across South and Southeast Asia. Conditions eased slightly downwind on Sept. 17: Singapore's NEA reported the 24-hour PSI back in the moderate range (66-93) across all regions by 5pm, though it warned dry conditions over southern Sumatra and southern Kalimantan meant renewed haze risk remained as winds continued carrying smoke toward the city-state.