Indonesian city engulfed in choking haze, family shelters
The gist
A young family in an Indonesian city took refuge in one bedroom to shield their five-month-old from choking haze.
Indonesia's worst fire season in a decade is sickening people and drifting across Southeast Asia.
How it unfolded
- Oct 19, 2026The BBC reports Indonesia is battling its worst wildfire season in a decade, with air pollution in Central Kalimantan at hazardous levels and haze drifting to Singapore and Malaysia.
- Oct 20, 2026In Palangka Raya, volunteers run clean air shelters with air purifiers, oxygen, nebulisers and basic medicines, receiving around 10 to 15 visitors a day.
- Oct 27, 2026A city-government mobile oxygen bus provides free oxygen in Palangka Raya; nearly 500 facilities offering free oxygen and haze-related treatment have been set up nationwide.
Key terms
- El Nino
- The cooling phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, marked by below-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific.
- peatlands
- A type of wetland whose soils consist of partly decayed plant matter forming layers of peat.
- MP
- Representatives in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district.
Source: Wikipedia