Schools in Palembang, the capital of Indonesia's South Sumatra province, have shifted to remote learning as dense haze from ongoing forest and peatland fires has severely degraded air quality, officials announced Wednesday. The worsening smoke conditions have disrupted education for over 1.4 million students nationwide, amid a broader regional health crisis affecting parts of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia’s wildfires, exacerbated by an intensifying El Niño weather pattern and an extended dry season, have continued to burn extensive areas of land, releasing toxic haze that has spread across borders. The smoke has reached the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers away, and triggered emergency declarations in parts of Malaysia’s Sarawak state on Borneo Island, where air pollution levels surpassed emergency thresholds.

In response to mounting health concerns, Palembang’s authorities mandated that all schools from kindergarten through junior high conduct classes online starting Wednesday. Mayor Ratu Dewa cited the health risks posed by the thick haze, including increased rates of acute respiratory infections among children, as the key factor in the decision. He emphasized that protecting students’ health and safety was the government’s top priority and directed teachers to limit excessive assignments during the remote learning period. The policy, affecting about 250,000 students enrolled in 1,030 schools, will be regularly reassessed with plans to resume in-person classes once air quality improves.

Across the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, authorities reported approximately 12,800 schools remain closed due to hazardous air pollution. The wildfire crisis in Indonesia continues to center on the Kalimantan region of Borneo, where fires have burned thousands of hectares. Satellite data from the Environment Ministry released Wednesday indicated that Central Kalimantan province remains the country’s primary hotspot with 2,459 fire detections, followed by South Sumatra with 1,445 and West Kalimantan with 928.

Save the Children, an international humanitarian organization, highlighted the impact of the ongoing fires and hazardous haze on children’s welfare. Arshad Malik, the group’s regional director for Asia, described the crisis as not just an environmental and health emergency but also a violation of children’s rights. “The Earth, our home, is on fire, and children, including here in Asia, are being left to bear the consequences,” he said.

Indonesian authorities have intensified firefighting operations in several provinces, deploying aircraft and personnel with assistance from foreign partners, including Japan, the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada, and Ukraine. According to the Forestry Ministry, more than 202,000 hectares of land have burned in Indonesia this year through July, an area nearly three times the size of Singapore. Efforts to contain the fires continue as the country grapples with one of its worst haze crises in recent years.