Many schools and airports have been closed. Clinics and hospitals are filled with patients struggling to breathe or complaining of raw throats, stinging eyes and infected lungs. The United States, Britain and Australia warned travelers of health risks, and the World Bank has offered emergency aid. Hundreds of fires, many deliberately lit to clear land, have been burning for months, blackening more than 740,000 acres and polluting the air. Meteorologists say El Nino, an unusual weather pattern over the Pacific Ocean, has produced the worst drought in a half-century and delayed monsoon rains needed to extinguish the flames and clear the air.
Environmentalists accuse Indonesia of doing little to prevent the crisis.
However, newspapers today quoted Indonesian Forestry Minister Jamaludin Suryohadikusumo as saying more than 8,000 firefighters have brought many of the fires under control. The United States and Australia today matched an earlier offer by Japan to supply Indonesia with firefighting expertise and equipment. Neighboring Malaysia, where air pollution soared to hazardous levels when the smoky haze drifted north, has sent more than 1,200 firefighters to Indonesia to help. So far, Indonesia has said two of its citizens have died after complaining of breathing difficulties. Another 35,000 have sought medical attention for problems related to the smoke.