Pollution from smoke emitted by months of wildfires across Indonesia caused an estimated 3,560 deaths in the vast Southeast Asian archipelago in September, according to a new study. The same month, about 57.8 million people in Indonesia were inhaling unhealthy to hazardous air, said the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based think tank. “Worsening air quality due to forest and land fires in Indonesia pushed the estimated death toll to 3,560 cases in September 2026,.
Indonesia’s wildfire smoke crisis claims over 3,500 lives in September
A study said millions in the country also inhaled hazardous air during the same month amid calls for urgent policy reforms
“Worsening air quality due to forest and land fires in Indonesia pushed the estimated death toll to 3,560 cases in September 2026, a twofold increase from the August estimate,” said a CREA statement on Thursday.