Toxic haze from Indonesian forest fires has pushed air quality in Malaysian Borneo to hazardous levels, triggering a surge in respiratory illnesses and forcing school and event closures, according to reports from Aljazeera and scmp.com.
The haze, drifting from fires in Indonesia’s Kalimantan region, has settled over Sarawak, Malaysia, for much of August, creating hazardous air quality indexes (API) exceeding 400 in some areas. Residents described the air as thick with smoke, while health officials reported alarming increases in asthma and respiratory infections, with one mother detailing her infant’s struggles with breathing and vomiting.
The haze is the region’s worst episode since 2015, when fires in Indonesia exposed tens of millions of people to toxic smoke and caused more than 500,000 people to suffer respiratory ailments. In Kuching, the state capital, the API reached 407, while in Serian, a town close to the Kalimantan border, it hit 408, according to Aljazeera. Six areas in Sarawak recorded hazardous air quality, with readings above 300 on Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index, which classifies anything above 100 as unhealthy.
Toxic haze from Indonesian forest fires chokes Malaysian Borneo
Mia Emylia Hassan, a Kuching resident, described the haze as “very thick,” with visibility reduced to about a kilometre. Her 10-month-old daughter, recovering from a lung infection, has struggled to breathe, requiring repeated emergency visits. It’s a mini heart attack for us every time,
Hassan said. Similar accounts emerged from peninsular Malaysia, where asthma patient Karen-Michaela Tan described wheezing audibly and needing multiple nebuliser treatments to manage symptoms. Doctors are erring on the side of caution,
she said.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health confirmed a significant spike in asthma cases during the week of August 23–29, with 1,811 cases reported compared to 219 the prior week. Conjunctivitis cases also rose sharply, from 146 to 720. In peninsular Malaysia, Karen-Michaela Tan said she needed two nebuliser treatments back to back to stop the wheezing, along with a heavy dose of steroids. Her house is sealed, and two purifiers run continuously, but I battle throat scratchiness and nasal dryness even with these measures,
she said.
Sarawak’s deputy premier, Douglas Uggah Embas, warned that areas with API readings above 500 would face local emergencies, closing all public and private offices. Schools have been shuttered repeatedly, with nearly 600 closures in Kuching alone during late August, affecting 200,000 students. On August 20 and 21, nearly 600 schools shut, and on August 28, 30 more closed, keeping more than 4,000 children at home. Outdoor activities are banned when the API exceeds 100, and schools close entirely at 200, per Ministry of Education rules.
Haze returns to Malaysia’s Sarawak, Selangor as Indonesian wildfires
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) activated its highest transboundary haze alert, Level 3, on Tuesday, citing a high risk of severe cross-border haze due to increased fire hotspots and prolonged dry weather fueled by an intensifying El Nino weather pattern. Sarawak canceled outdoor Independence Day celebrations, and officials warned of further restrictions. ASEAN’s alert covers the southern part of the region.
Indonesia’s deputy health minister, Dante Saksono Harbuwono, reported 13,500 people treated for respiratory infections in July and August, with 5.5 million people on Borneo and Sumatra directly exposed to smoke. Borneo, the world’s third-largest island, is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. A wildfire in East Java’s Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park scorched 550 hectares (1,360 acres), the largest of several that spread rapidly last week as Southeast Asia faces an unusually dry season.
Smog from the fires has choked the southern half of Sarawak, where the API hit 182 in Serian as of noon on Monday, according to scmp.com. Malaysia ranks pollution readings between 100 and 200 as “unhealthy.” The Sarawak state government urged the public to limit outdoor activities, noting it could do little to address the issue. Meanwhile, youth sports programs, like Square One Football in Kuala Lumpur, halted training sessions to protect players.
Residents described the haze as just white all over,
with one noting, We have not seen blue sky for over a month.
Health officials urged residents to wear face masks if outside, but the prolonged crisis has left communities grappling with uncertainty. The source of the fires remains uncontrolled, and the health impacts continue to mount.
