Straits Times 23 May 08;
PADANG - THE haze which has been affecting West Sumatra for the past two days following the emergence of hot spots in a number of locations became thicker yesterday but has not disrupted domestic and international flight schedules yet.
Air traffic was proceeding normally and had remained unaffected, said Mr Satyah Anggara, the chief of Minangkabau International Airport operations division.
Mr Amarizal, a spokesman for the Tabing Padang meteorological and geophysics office, said visibility was still good despite the haze.
He suspected the haze had come from West Sumatra's neighbouring provinces of Jambi and Bengkulu.
However, there may also be hot spots in West Sumatra's forests as the province is entering the dry season.
On Tuesday, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellite 18 detected scores of hot spots in West Sumatra which were causing the haze.
Data from the forest service and the natural resources conservation agency showed that there were 27 hot spots in the province last Saturday.
The hot spots have emerged because of forest fires and fires started to open up land for new farms, a local forestry service officer said. He warned farmers not to violate a government regulation that bans the burning of trees in forested areas.
Forest fires in Sumatra and Borneo have affected Malaysia and Singapore almost yearly since 1997.
The problem prompted Asean member countries affected by haze to help Indonesia fight illegal burning.
A meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur just last month to step up those efforts, as dry weather is forecast for the months ahead.
BERNAMA
