Air pollution from smoke caused by months of wildfires in Indonesia led to an estimated 3,560 deaths in September, according to a recent scientific study, AFP reported.
A report by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) says about 57.8 million people in the country were exposed to unhealthy and hazardous levels of air pollution in September.
According to the report, forest and land fires in September 2026 made Indonesia’s air quality worse still, doubling the number of likely pollution-related deaths from August to 3,560.
The study estimated deaths from the short-term effects of PM2.5, the finest particles of air pollution. In other words, the figure counts only deaths that occurred within a few days of breathing polluted air.
Most of the deaths occurred in the Indonesian part of Borneo, on the islands of Java and Sumatra, and in the east of the country.
The study also took into account pollution from cities and industry alongside wildfire smoke. It found that pollution from these sources caused about 1,750 more deaths in September alone.
As a result, the estimated total death toll from air pollution of all kinds, wildfires included, reached about 5,310 in Indonesia that month. In a country of about 278 million people, air pollution has now become a major threat to public health.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report