Indonesia’s September Wildfire Smoke Linked to Over 3,500 Deaths
A new study estimates 3,560 fatalities in September as smoke from months‑long fires chokes the nation.
Air pollution from Indonesia’s wildfires is causing thousands of deaths.
Research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a think tank based in Helsinki, estimates that 3,560 people died in September 2026 as a result of smoke from months of fires across the archipelago.
The same analysis indicates that roughly 57.8 million residents were exposed to air quality that ranged from unhealthy to hazardous during that month.
CREA’s report attributes the elevated death toll to worsening air quality caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia.
The scale of the health impact underscores the urgent need to address fire‑related air pollution.
