Hanoi (VNA) – Many schools on Indonesia’sBorneo and Sumatra islands on September 16 were closed due to choking smokefrom forest fires while the country has recorded thousands of respiratoryinfection cases.

According to authorities, schools in two cities in Central Kalimantan have been closedthis week due to concerns over the pollution, while schools in Riau have alsobeen shut.

Head of Riau’shealth agency said Sumatran province has opened 12 temporary centres in thecapital Pekanbaru to treat people suffering respiratory infections.

Statistics fromIndonesia’s Health Ministry showed that acute respiratory infections haveaffected nearly 11,760 people in Palangka Raya, 15,346 in Riau and over 15,000in Jambi.

The ministrydistributed more than 1.2 million masks in affected areas and 1,000 vials ofrespiratory medicine.

The airpollution index in Palangka Raya, the capital of Central Kalimantan province onBorneo, has been at “dangerous” levels for days, while the air quality in otherareas, such as Jambi and Riau provinces in Sumatra, also hit “unhealthy”levels.

Poor visibilitydue to the smoke affected 11 airports across Sumatra and Indonesian parts ofBorneo on September 16, causing 10 flights to be canceled, 50 delayed and twodiverted.

Indonesia andneighboring countries in Southeast Asia are regularly hit by haze fromslash-and-burn clearances of forests for timber and palm oil plantations, butconditions this year have been the worst since 2015 due to an El Nino weatherpattern causing an extended dry spell./.