Indonesian Wildfires Cause Severe Air Pollution: Neighboring Nations Hit Hard, Flights Thrown into Chaos | WPN World People News

Raging forest fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia, continue to burn out of control, sending thick smoke across the region and triggering severe haze across Southeast Asia. In neighboring Malaysia,widespread air pollution has worsened to the point where authorities in the southern state of Johor ordered all schools closed for a second consecutive week. Meanwhile, deteriorating air quality in Singapore has sparked panic buying of masks, forcing the government to release N95 masks from its national stockpile.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation confirmed on the 20th that domestic air travel has been brought to a near-standstill by the haze. Between August 11 and October 19, a total of 2,604 domestic flights across the country were disrupted, with more than 1,400 flights canceled or rescheduled and another 1,129 delayed.International travel has also suffered: at least 14 flights connecting Singapore to Pontianak and Palembang have been canceled, while Malaysia’s Firefly Airlines suspended its flights to and from Singapore for an entire week.

Amid the mounting cross-border public health and aviation crises, a fierce blame game has erupted between Indonesia's central government and local authorities. Officials in Central Kalimantan, one of the hardest-hit provinces, publicly criticized Jakarta, pointing out that since legal revisions in 2020 centralized forestry concession approval powers with the national government, local administrations and communities have been left to shoulder the burden of firefighting without adequate budget support. Furious university students also surrounded the governor’s office to protest the government’s ineffective disaster response and months-long indifference to public suffering. [Compiled and reported by reporter Lin Xiao-ming]