New measurements by Indonesia's Ministry of Environment show that the country's air pollution index is more than four times the 300-point limit for the "hazardous" classification.
Forests and land have been burning since August on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and the polluted air continues to spread to neighboring countries Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor.
The authorities cite, among other contributing factors, the weather phenomenon El Niño and slash-and-burn agriculture - clearing forests and then burning the vegetation - as causes of the dangerous haze.