Sumatra hot spots spell hazy days ahead

Dry weather and fires burning in Indonesia are bad news for Singapore
Tania Tan in Singapore & Salim Osman in Jakarta, Straits Times 2 Aug 08;

SINGAPORE'S 43rd birthday next week may be a hazy one.

Dry spells in parts of neighbouring Indonesia have led to fires flaring up in north and central Sumatra.

Over 350 hot spots were detected yesterday, up from about 300 the day before, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

While still a long way from the 8,000 hot spots recorded in 2006, during Singapore's worst recent episode of haze, 'this is probably just the beginning', said Mr Chia Aik Song.

The associate scientist with the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing from the National University of Singapore added: 'If the weather continues, then we may have a problem.'

According to NEA, the forecast for the next two weeks is more dry weather. So expect more hot spots in Sumatra - and depending on the wind direction, the acrid pall could be headed this way.

'If fires occur in forest and plantation land in Sumatra next week, you can expect the wind to blow the smoke towards Malaysia and Singapore,' said Mr Blucher Doloksaribu, weather analyst from Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics agency (BMG).

More fires are expected this month in Indonesia as the peak of the dry season coincides with farmers and plantation workers stepping up their land-clearing activities, warn weathermen and environmentalists in Indonesia.

Smoke plumes from Sumatra shrouded Penang on Thursday, with some areas experiencing poor visibility of between 2km and 6km.

But so far there have been no reports of the smoke haze affecting population centres in Sumatra.

'This is probably because of the wind direction, blowing away the smoke,' said environmentalist Zulfahmi of the Save the Riau Forest movement.

No haze-related incidents were reported in the seaports of Sumatra too, said Mr Hendra Budi, spokesman for the Indonesian state port operator PT Pelindo II.

The company runs seaports in Jambi, Bengkulu, Lampung, Palembang, and Padang.

Said Mr Hendra: 'We have not received reports of haze-related disturbance. At the worst point last year, we had to temporarily cease operation at Palembang port for half a day. Vessels couldn't get in or leave due to thick haze.

'There were a number of days with thick haze last year, but not this year so far.'

He said that no haze had occurred because of the wind direction, even though there were fires in Sumatra.