Haze blankets Riau

The Jakarta Post 11 Feb 09;

Thick haze from forest fires has blanketed a number of cities in Riau province on Wednesday morning, while local weather agency has predicted for worse haze in the coming days.

Riau Natural Resource Conservation Agency said Wednesday that the haze, that has hit the province during the past several weeks, thickened in the morning following increasing number of hot spots in the province.

“Satellite observation record 41 hot spots in Riau, an increase from 11 a day earlier, and 32 of them are in peat lands,” the agency head Rachman Sidik, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Haze has hit Pekanbaru, Pangkalan Kerinci, Bagan Siapi Api, Pasir Pengaraian, Dumai, Duri and Bengkalis. The agency warns that considering the width and thickness of burning peat swamps, haze may get worse in two days time.

Separately, the local Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said thickening haze may disturb air and river transportation in the coming days.

“Based on wind pattern observation and low chances of rain in the area, the haze is predicted to worse,” said Blutcher Doloksaribu, head of the weather agency. (dre)