Indonesian fires reach the “crime against humanity” level
Travel Health
Half a million cases of respiratory infections were reported as a result of the raging forest fires responsible for the haze covering the country
Tens of thousands of hectares of forest have been affected by the huge fire for more than two months now, as the largest producer of palm oil in the world is clearing land for new palm plantations. This year's prolonged dry season and El Niño hurricane have made the situation even worse.
Due to the resultant haze, Singapore and Malaysia schools shut down and flights and events were also canceled. The fire crisis, pushed six Indonesian provinces to declare a state of emergency.
In certain areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the levels of the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) due to smoke have reached 2,000, as 300 is already considered hazardous. Ten people have died here due to haze illnesses and 500,000 cases of acute respiratory tract infections have been reported since this year's 1st of July.
“This is a crime against humanity of extraordinary proportions. But now is not the time to point fingers but to focus on how we can deal with this quickly”, Sutopo Puro Nugroho from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) declared, as 43 million people have been inhaling toxic fumes for months and the fires have cost the Indonesian government more than US$30 billion.
30 aircrafts and 22,000 Indonesian troops are fighting fires from the ground, while Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Japan have also sent help.
Aside from the human victims, the forests' fire also endangers local wildlife, such as orangutans. A third of the world's wild orangutans are now being threatened by Indonesia's fires.
Palm oil plantations in Indonesia and consecutive fires and deforestations are also contributing to a massive climate change, on a global level. According to a Scientific American report, the fires account for 3% of global emissions since they first began.
During his Washington visit last weekend, The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo met President Obama and announced a commitment to stop further developing of palm-oil plantations and reduce the country's emissions by 2030.
“One of the main issues we discussed was the issue of climate change, and why it’s so important in large countries like ours work together to arrive at the strongest possible set of targets”, Obama concluded.
Tens of thousands of hectares of forest have been affected by the huge fire for more than two months now, as the largest producer of palm oil in the world is clearing land for new palm plantations. This year's prolonged dry season and El Niño hurricane have made the situation even worse.
Due to the resultant haze, Singapore and Malaysia schools shut down and flights and events were also canceled. The fire crisis, pushed six Indonesian provinces to declare a state of emergency.
In certain areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan, the levels of the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) due to smoke have reached 2,000, as 300 is already considered hazardous. Ten people have died here due to haze illnesses and 500,000 cases of acute respiratory tract infections have been reported since this year's 1st of July.
“This is a crime against humanity of extraordinary proportions. But now is not the time to point fingers but to focus on how we can deal with this quickly”, Sutopo Puro Nugroho from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) declared, as 43 million people have been inhaling toxic fumes for months and the fires have cost the Indonesian government more than US$30 billion.
30 aircrafts and 22,000 Indonesian troops are fighting fires from the ground, while Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Japan have also sent help.
Aside from the human victims, the forests' fire also endangers local wildlife, such as orangutans. A third of the world's wild orangutans are now being threatened by Indonesia's fires.
Palm oil plantations in Indonesia and consecutive fires and deforestations are also contributing to a massive climate change, on a global level. According to a Scientific American report, the fires account for 3% of global emissions since they first began.
During his Washington visit last weekend, The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo met President Obama and announced a commitment to stop further developing of palm-oil plantations and reduce the country's emissions by 2030.
“One of the main issues we discussed was the issue of climate change, and why it’s so important in large countries like ours work together to arrive at the strongest possible set of targets”, Obama concluded.
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