Jakarta, Sept. 2 -- The Health Ministry is deploying a comprehensive, emergency health response to protect Indonesia's elderly population from the severe health hazards caused by widespread forest and land fires.

Data from the ministry reveals that dense wildfire smoke-rich in hazardous fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10)-has driven a surge in respiratory illnesses, recording over 50,000 cases of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections (ISPA) as of late August.

Nearly 40,000 of those cases occurred among individuals over five years of age, with senior citizens bearing the heaviest brunt.

An estimated 3.8 million elderly residents live across eight provinces severely impacted by the blazes, including West Kalimantan, which has recorded ...