Indonesia's fire haze is now a health emergency in all but name. The Health Ministry counted 283,270 acute respiratory infections in fire-hit areas between August 18 and October 13. A coalition of civil society groups, Sustainabilitas, is calling on the government to declare a national disaster.
Jakarta hasn't. More than 60,000 firefighters and other personnel have been deployed, but El Niño dryness and land-clearing by fire keep the blazes going, and cloud seeding and water drops have had limited effect. Smoke has reached Singapore and Malaysia.
