'Breathing toxin every day': Indonesians choked by haze feel helpless

(FILE) A peatland firefighting task force extinguishes a fire in the Tambang area of Kampar, in the Riau province on August 27, 2026. Critically endangered Sumatran elephants are pushed further to the brink as wildfires razed hundreds of hectares of their habitat on the western Indonesian island, wildlife NGO Geopix told AFP on Sept 16, 2026. - Photo: AFP

PONTIANAK, (Indonesia): Struggling to breathe through the acrid haze emanating from wildfires on Indonesia's Borneo island, residents told AFP on Wednesday (Sept 16) they feared for their health but had little to do but wait out the foul-smelling hazard.

Indonesia, which shares Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei, is grappling with forest fires that have ravaged swathes of the island, partly caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon that has also affected other countries in Southeast Asia and beyond.

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（资料图）2026年8月27日，一支泥炭地消防队在廖内省坎帕尔县坦邦地区扑灭一场大火。野生动物保护组织Geopix于2026年9月16日告诉法新社，由于野火烧毁了印度尼西亚西部岛屿上数百公顷的苏门答腊象栖息地，极度濒危的苏门答腊象的生存状况进一步恶化。——图片：法新社

坤甸（印度尼西亚）：印尼婆罗洲岛上的居民周三（9月16日）告诉法新社，他们呼吸困难，因为野火产生的刺鼻烟雾弥漫在岛上，他们担心自己的健康，但除了等待这种恶臭的危险过去之外，别无他法。

与马来西亚和文莱共同拥有婆罗洲的印度尼西亚，正遭受森林大火的肆虐，这场大火已经烧毁了岛上的大片地区。部分原因是厄尔尼诺气候现象造成的，这种现象也影响了东南亚及其他地区的其他国家。

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