People are not the only ones being effected by these wildfires. Human populations can avoid the smoke by wearing masks or going indoors, but many species have had no escape from the smoke. Nearly 2,000 elephants in Central Sumatra are suffering from respiratory problems, and many have run amok through villages and plantations. Tiger populations have also fled into populated areas killing a few people. On Borneo, several orphaned orangutans were found hungry and dehydrated in villages and along roadways after their mothers were shot by poachers fleeing the smoke.
Songbirds are virtually silent in the smokey forests.
Korea A third year of drought in North Korea is threatening to make the country's already acute food shortage even more devasting. It is estimated that as many as 80,000 children are malnourished and in danger of dying of starvation and disease. Agricultural has suffered greatly due to high temperature, coastal flooding, and drought. Typhoon Linda became the most destructive storm to strike Southeast Asia this century as it tore through southern Vietnam, Cambodia, and parts of Thailand. Hundreds of people were killed by flash floods and high winds.