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Smoke from wildfires killed 3,500 people in Indonesia in September: Report

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Cite

Al Jazeera Staff. (2026, October 30). Smoke from wildfires killed 3,500 people in Indonesia in September: Report. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/smoke-from-wildfires-killed-3500-people-in-indonesia-in-september-report?traffic_source=rss

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Al Jazeera · collected 2026-10-30 · by Al Jazeera Staff

Quick Summary

A report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air indicates that toxic smoke from wildfires killed 3,560 people in Indonesia last month. The study found a 42 percent increase in air pollution-related deaths to an estimated total of 5,310 across the country in September. Wildfires caused most of these fatalities in regions like Kalimantan and Sumatra, while Java experienced fewer fire-related deaths due to its higher levels of urban and industrial air pollution.
Written by AI on 2026-10-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 30, 2026, a report from CREA, a Helsinki-based think tank, revealed that toxic smoke from wildfires in Indonesia caused an estimated 3,560 deaths in September. This is nearly double the August estimate and represents a significant increase in air pollution-related fatalities. The study found that while fires were responsible for 94-99% of air pollution deaths in regions like Kalimantan on Borneo and more than 80% in Sumatra, urban and industrial emissions accounted for most deaths on Java, including 1,530 in Jakarta. Overall, about 57.8 million people in Indonesia were exposed to unhealthy-to-hazardous air during the same month. The report calls for policy reforms focused on peatland restoration rather than just wildfire response.

Written for “Indonesia Wildfire Smoke Deaths” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Indonesia Wildfire Smoke Deaths
Environment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Indonesia’s wildfire smoke crisis claims over 3,500 lives in September Same event
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Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 62/100
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⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 67/100
Indonesia haze cost Malaysia US$1.97 billion in losses: study Different event
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 62/100
“The articles describe different studies reporting on impacts of haze from wildfires, but cover distinct periods and focus on different countries' losses (Malaysia's economic loss vs. Indonesia's deaths).”
Indonesians share impact of haze on their livelihoods Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses the impact of haze on livelihoods, while Article B reports specific death toll numbers from a study about air pollution-related deaths due to wildfires.”
‘Looks like Mars’: Toxic smog from Indonesia wildfires sparks health crisis, protests Different event
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Hedges 3 of 39 claims Outlet record 78/100
“Article A reports on a study about deaths caused by smoke from wildfires, while Article B describes the ongoing health and environmental impact of the wildfires as experienced by individuals.”
Indonesia's smoke haze reignites regional frustrations Different event
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Hedges 4 of 49 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A focuses on a report detailing deaths from smoke in September, while Article B discusses ongoing regional tensions and measures related to the fires in general without specifying a single incident or time.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 4846 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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2026-10-03
Tennessee prisons official resigns after Christa Pike’s failed US execution
2026-09-30
Indonesia suspends five officials over luxury apartments for inmates

Who wrote this

Al Jazeera Staff
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Topics

3Malaysia Indonesia Kalimantan Singapore the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air

Subjects

Indonesia GPE · 6× Kalimantan GPE · 2× Singapore GPE · 2× 3Malaysia GPE · 1× 3Sky ORG · 1× Borneo GPE · 1× Helsinki GPE · 1× Java GPE · 1× Sumatra GPE · 1× the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air ORG · 1×

Narrative

Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Malaysia’s Firefly cancels flights to Singapore over haze from Indonesia - list 2 of 3Sky turns orange as wildfires rage across Indonesia - list 3 of 3Four killed as Indonesia battles worst forest fires in more than a decade Toxic smoke from forest and land fires caused 3,560 deaths last month, the report said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-30
2026-10-30 · Al Jazeera
Smoke from wildfires killed 3,500 people in Indonesia in September: Report · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

Toxic smoke from wildfires killed 3,560 people in Indonesia last month, according to a new report. uncertain
smoke → kill → report
The study, released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) on Thursday, found that air pollution-related deaths in Indonesia surged by 42 percent in September, rising from an estimated 3,740 people killed in August to 5,310. asserted
deaths → release → 5,310
Recommended Stories list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Malaysia’s Firefly cancels flights to Singapore over haze from Indonesia - list 2 of 3Sky turns orange as wildfires rage across Indonesia - list 3 of 3Four killed as Indonesia battles worst forest fires in more than a decade Toxic smoke from forest and land fires caused 3,560 deaths last month, the report said. asserted
report → cancel → deaths
“Chronic, non-fire emissions from urban and industrial air pollution sources” caused another 1,750 deaths, the Helsinki-based think tank found. asserted
tank → cause → deaths
Toxic fire smoke accounted for 94-99 percent of air pollution-related deaths in Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, and more than 80 percent on Sumatra, the regions worst affected by the fires, the report notes. asserted
report → account → fires
Deaths on the southern island of Java, meanwhile, remained largely tied to urban and industrial sources, the study found. asserted
study → tie → sources
It added that the number of citizens exposed to “unhealthy” to “hazardous” air quality reached a record peak of 58 million in September. asserted
number → add → September
“Citizens inhaling hazardous-level air in Kalimantan alone nearly tripled from 2.8 million to 6.4 million during the worst days of the month,” it found. asserted
it → inhale → month
Amid an El Nino weather pattern, Indonesia has been dealing with devastating wildfires sparked by severe drought, which have led to deforestation and sent toxic smog across the Southeast Asian archipelago. asserted
which → deal → archipelago
It has also raised pollution levels in neighbouring countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and East Timor. asserted
It → raise → Malaysia
The government in Jakarta is facing increasing criticism for its response to the fires. asserted
government → face → fires
On Wednesday, it defended its approach, noting it has deployed more than 72,000 people to carry out cloud-seeding and firefighting operations, activated more than 2,100 doctors and health workers in hard-hit areas, and distributed 5.3 million masks. asserted
it → defend → masks
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