‘We’re breathing in the smoke even as we sleep’: Living with haze in Sumatra

The Straits Times · WAHYUDI SOERIAATMADJA, KARINA TEHUSIJARANA, Alyssa Mungcal, Carlos Marin, Chang May Choon, Ho Ai Li, Joanna Lim, Rino Yamada, Sandy Ng, Sharon Loh · 2026-10-23 00:00 UTC

Farmers are seeing smaller harvests, businesses are losing customers and residents are falling sick.

PALEMBANG – In Ogan Ilir regency on the outskirts of Palembang, South Sumatra, near-constant forest and land fires for over two months have left the ground so dry in some areas that just stepping on it kicks up a visible cloud of dust and ash.

Nita Herman, 52, has to breathe it all in as she works her small farm, growing rice and vegetables. The fires and the resulting haze mean she cannot get as much done as she needs.

“My chest feels tight. When I drink, it feels like there’s a fish bone stuck in my throat,” she told The Straits Times as she worked on Oct 17.

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