East Timor shuts schools over Indonesia haze

East Timor began a three-day school closure on Thursday, October 15, after thick haze from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia spread over the country.

In the capital, Dili, people were moving around under a yellow-tinged sky, with many wearing masks. The government announced the closures a day earlier and advised families to keep children indoors. It also told people to wear masks if they went outside.

The government said the closures were needed “to protect the health of students, teachers and other members of the educational community” because of current air quality conditions.

Residents welcomed the decision, though some said the pollution had been worse earlier in the week. Sonya da Costa Soares, a 30-year-old midwife in Dili, said the pollution had been severe and that keeping students home was important to avoid putting children in danger.

Indonesia has regular forest fires during its dry season, but the blazes this year have been especially severe because a strong El Nino has brought drought. Fires have burned hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and plantations in Sumatra, Borneo and Papua, sending pollution into Indonesia and neighbouring countries including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and East Timor.

Vitaliano da Costa Calapes, an 18-year-old student at St. Ignatius Loyola College, said he was studying at home for upcoming final exams and hoped school would return to normal in the coming days.