01HealthAsia-Pacific
BBC reports widespread illness from Indonesia's prolonged fires
Reporting from Borneo describes months-long fires and toxic haze, but provides little detail on how illness totals were calculated.
BBC News describes Indonesia as facing its worst wildfire season in a decade. Its Borneo report attributes months-long fires to a 'Super El Niño' and says hundreds of thousands of people have been made sick. A related report from central Kalimantan examines peat fires.
What holds up
- ✓Two BBC items describe a severe Indonesian fire season, including reporting from central Kalimantan.
- ✓The Borneo item explicitly reports prolonged fires and a large health burden, although neither is independently corroborated here.
What doesn't yet
- ?The illness estimate has no named health authority, methodology or reporting period in the extract.
- ?The decade comparison and attribution to a 'Super El Niño' are not accompanied by measurements or supporting analysis.
Ask before you share
- →Which health records underpin the estimate of hundreds of thousands made sick?
- →What measures establish this as the worst wildfire season in a decade?