Borneo struggles to breathe as wildfires fill the air with toxic smog

Volunteers carry portable oxygen tanks through dense haze to deliver medical assistance to affected residents in the city of Palangkaraya, Indonesia, on Thursday. | AFP-JIJI

AFP-Jiji

Oct 27, 2026

Palangkaraya, Indonesia – Sudarsono shuddered as he inhaled from an oxygen tank while being evacuated from his small house in Palangkaraya on Indonesian Borneo, as yellow, acrid wildfire smoke billowed all around.

The 57-year-old fell sick after going out with three friends days earlier to fight fires that were creeping closer to homes on the outskirts of the city in Central Kalimantan province, one of the regions hit hardest by months of blazes and haze.

“I wore a mask, goggles, everything, but I was surrounded by smoke. I went home since I couldn’t take it anymore,” said the construction worker and farmer as he was being loaded into an ambulance to go to the hospital last week.

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