An aerial view
of a forest fire burning near the village of Bokor, Meranti Islands regency,
Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia in this March 15, 2016 file photo taken by
Antara Foto. REUTERS/ Rony Muharrman/Antara Foto/Files
Harvard and Columbia university research
showing smoke from land fires in Southeast Asia led to more than 100,000
premature deaths last year "makes no sense at all," an official at
Indonesia's Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Indonesian government records show only 24
deaths related to forest fires in 2015, but the disaster was estimated to have
left more than half a million Indonesians suffering from respiratory ailments.
Indonesia is under global pressure to put an
end to slash-and-burn land clearances for palm and pulp plantations which send
clouds of toxic smoke over the region each year.
The university research estimates pollution
exposure from last year's fires killed 91,600 people in Indonesia, 6,500 in
Malaysia and 2,200 in Singapore in 2015 and 2016, significantly higher than
government records.
"Given the severe haze in Equatorial
Asia in 2015, the 100,000 premature deaths in that region are not so
surprising," said Loretta Mickley, a senior researcher at Harvard focusing
on atmospheric pollution, who contributed to the research.
Health Ministry director general of disease
prevention and control Mohamad Subuh told Reuters the research data was wrong.
"Data on deaths is clear. We have
surveillance," Subuh said, adding that the assumptions of mortality based
on mathematical calculations were "irresponsible".
Every year, Indonesia faces criticism from
its neighbors Singapore and Malaysia over the smog, euphemistically known as
"haze", and its failure to stop the fires from being lit.
Last year's fires were among the worst in the
region's history, with billions of dollars worth of environmental damage, weeks
of flight and school disruptions and thousands suffering from respiratory
disease.
(This story corrects dateline and day of
attribution in the lede.)
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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