A bus fitted with oxygen tanks is giving residents of Palangka Raya brief breathing relief as forest-fire haze grips Borneo, with about 350,000 respiratory illness cases recorded from August to October 25, Indonesia's health ministry said.
In Palangka Raya, a city on Indonesia's Borneo island, a bus fitted out with oxygen tanks has become a refuge for residents struggling to breathe through forest-fire haze that shows no sign of lifting. Medical staff on the white-and-blue bus record patients' details and offer oxygen through a nasal tube for five to 10 minutes at a time.
The service was provided by the local government as respiratory illnesses rose in the Central Kalimantan capital, the provincial health department said on Instagram this week. It is intended for people experiencing breathing problems or needing oxygen support while air quality remains unhealthy.
Indonesia regularly battles seasonal forest fires, mainly on Sumatra and Borneo, but this year's fires are the most intense in more than a decade. An intense El Niño has driven up temperatures and left forests and peatlands more vulnerable to burning, turning skies orange across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Indonesia's air pollution index has shown some areas of Borneo and Sumatra above 1,000, while readings of 300 or more are already classed as hazardous. Respiratory illnesses linked to the fires have risen to about 350,000 cases from August to October 25, the health ministry said, including about 31,000 in Central Kalimantan.
Residents described the daily strain. Oktawina, 44, said with an oxygen tube fitted that there was not much anyone could do about what she called a disaster from nature. Purnasari, 31, said that after being out of the house she felt tightness and coughing because of the thick yellowish smoke.
Hundreds of students protested at the provincial governor's office last week demanding a greater response to the fires, local news website Kompas reported. The haze crisis has also strained relations with neighbours: Singapore's foreign minister was due in Jakarta on Tuesday amid tensions over the haze and a cut in pipelined gas supplies to Singapore.
People Sentiments Public Mood: Negative
- Oktawina, 44, said there was not much anyone could do about a disaster from nature
- Purnasari, 31, said thick yellowish smoke left her breathing tight with coughing
- Hundreds of students protested at the governor's office demanding a greater response