Tejal Somvanshi
An AFP report published on 18 October said haze from wildfires in Indonesia has blanketed parts of Southeast Asia for months. The report said the prolonged haze has been accompanied by school closures and a rise in respiratory complaints across the affected region. It did not specify which countries beyond Indonesia were most affected or for how many months the haze had persisted.
The report cited AA Alive as saying sales of oxygen equipment had risen by 35 percent during the period of haze. AA Alive’s reported increase was described in the report as applying to oxygen equipment generally, without a breakdown by product type, location or buyer, and did not name a specific time period for the increase beyond describing it as occurring during the haze.
Courts, another retailer referenced in the report, said sales of air purifiers climbed 600 percent in the period from 28 September to 12 October compared with the same period a year earlier. The report described Courts only as a retailer operating in the region, without further company detail or an explanation for the rise beyond the figures themselves.
Gain City, also cited in the report, said its sales had risen ninefold compared with the start of the haze season in August, with a sharp increase in sales beginning around 9 October, according to the report. The report did not specify in how many stores or locations Gain City’s sales were recorded.
An environmental-health professor quoted in the report said repeated exposure to haze, particularly during childhood, may increase the burden of respiratory illness over time. The report did not quote the professor making any further or more specific claim about health effects, symptoms or treatment.
The report said school closures and respiratory complaints have both been reported in multiple areas affected by the haze during the months it has persisted. It did not provide further detail on the rate, severity or nature of the complaints beyond describing them as respiratory, or on how many schools had closed across the affected areas.
The report did not say when the haze conditions across the region were expected to ease. It likewise did not indicate whether government measures beyond school closures had been taken in response to the haze, or how retailers expected demand to change in the weeks ahead.
