Welcome rain has brought relief to residents of Indonesia’s Pontianak city after weeks of exposure to a cloying, toxic haze caused by rampant wildfires on Borneo. Fires have torn through vast swathes of peat and forest areas on Borneo and nearby Sumatra, with the resulting haze drifting to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore and blanketing cities for weeks.
Rains in recent days have brought a welcome respite, said homemaker Lilis Suryani, who has been worrying about the effects of the haze on her children’s health. “After the rain, I immediately felt the difference. The air was better, and the visibility was clearer,” the 43-year-old told AFP.
University student Uray Rosa Febrianti, 23, said that “the rain means a lot … not only to cool the air, but also to give hope that the situation is beginning to improve”.
“I see it as a gift from God.”
Residents described daily life under the smog as exhausting. Many wore masks outdoors, yet shops and markets continued operating as people sought to maintain livelihoods. Demand for clean water rose for washing and health needs, and some communities organised volunteer brigades with limited equipment to tackle nearby peat fires.
The level of PM2.5 pollution in Pontianak was still more than 23 times the World Health Organization’s safe limit at one point on Tuesday (29th September), according to Switzerland-based monitor IQAir. That was markedly lower than earlier this month, when levels in the city were more than 100 times the recommended limit. PM2.5 particles are so small that they can enter deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream, with potentially serious consequences for health.
Pontianak, a city of about 700,000 people, saw outdoor activities limited by the thick smog, while thousands of respiratory cases have been recorded in the region since last month, according to officials. Across seven provinces on Borneo and Sumatra, nearly 175,000 cases were reported between mid-August and late September, and more than 13 million people have been exposed to the toxic smoke, according to Indonesia’s Health Ministry. Cases more than doubled in early September alone as hotspots surged.
Schools across West Kalimantan, where Pontianak is the provincial capital, faced prolonged closures. Hundreds suspended in-person classes, affecting around 200,000 pupils who shifted to remote learning despite connectivity challenges in some areas. Visibility also dropped sharply at times, disrupting flights at Supadio International Airport in Pontianak, with delays and cancellations.
Indonesia regularly battles wildfires during the dry season, which in Borneo typically peaks between July and September. The fires have intensified this year in part because of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is set to be one of the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago. El Niño typically brings severe drought to Indonesia.
Experts have also pointed to slash-and-burn land-clearing practices that have changed the naturally fire-resistant landscape. Independent monitors estimate that nearly 896,000 hectares had burned by the end of August, far exceeding earlier government tallies for the first half of the year. Peatlands, which store vast amounts of carbon, have proved especially difficult to extinguish once ignited, allowing fires to smoulder underground and reignite.
Authorities mobilised tens of thousands of personnel, along with aircraft for water-bombing and cloud-seeding operations, while Japan contributed helicopters and crew to support the effort. Indonesia has deployed firefighters assisted by volunteers across affected areas, but the measures have had limited success, and the haze persisted for weeks.
Forecasters anticipate further rain as the season progresses, although dry conditions linked to El Niño could prolong challenges in remaining hotspots. Officials continue monitoring air quality and health impacts while firefighting operations persist in peat and forest zones. The combination of weather patterns and land-use practices has made this one of the more severe wildfire seasons in recent years, underscoring ongoing efforts to balance agricultural needs with fire prevention across Indonesia’s vast islands.
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