Air quality in Indonesia drops, minister vows to do squat

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 5 Aug 09;

The air quality in several cities across Riau province dropped to "dangerous" levels Tuesday, due to thick haze from forest fires that also disrupted flights and forced schools to close.

The thick smog also lead to eye irritations and respiratory difficulties among local residents.

Ibnu Hasan, duty manager of the Sultan Syarif Kasim Airport in the provincial capital Pekanbaru, said flights there had been disrupted for a second straight day, with three flights postponed due to low visibility.

"The pilots didn't want to risk flying with such poor visibility," he told The Jakarta Post.

He added an inbound flight had to be diverted Tuesday morning to Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, because of the haze.

Readings of PM10 particulates ranged between 120 and 404 microns per cubic meter, far higher than the tolerable level of 100.

The head of the city's environmental agency, Dedi Gusriadi, said residents of Pekanbaru had had only two days of healthy air throughout July.

"These are the worst levels of air pollution we've seen in Pekanbaru in the past two years," he said.

In Siak regency, the education agency ordered all kindergartens and grade schools to close for three days.

"The younger students are very vulnerable to the pollution," said Siak regency spokesman Hendri San.

"Students in fourth grade and up will still have classes, but will not take part in any outdoor activities."

There has also been a marked increase in the number of residents complaining of sore eyes and breathing difficulties, as a result of the choking smog.

"I'm having trouble breathing and my eyes are red and sore," said Nasir, a civil servant at the governor's office.

State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar and his Malaysian counterpart, Douglas Uggah Embas, will meet Saturday in Riau to discuss the out-of-control forest fires in the province that are also threatening the neighboring country.

The snap meeting is expected to call for concerted measures to be taken to ensure the haze does not reach other countries.

"The two ministers will discuss cooperation in tackling the forest fires, mainly in Rokan Hilir regency," said Purwasto Sapoprayogi, head of the ministry's forest fire unit.

WWF Indonesia has reported a rise in the number of hot spots in Riau, from less than 1,000 in January to nearly 2,400 in July - the highest number anywhere in the country.

A hot spot is defined as a fire covering at least a hectare of land.

Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban, in a mind-boggling statement, said the government would only take firm action to control fires if the haze disrupts flights and sparks protests in neighboring countries.

"We must accept the fact that haze might reach other regions, like Batam and other parts of Sumatra," he said.

"Why should we care about domestic affairs? Our international image is what matters."

Rizal Harahap in Pekanbaru and Fadli in Batam contributed to this report.

Malaysia hit with haze from forest fires
AFP 5 Aug 09;

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia was Wednesday hit with the worst haze levels recorded this year, as smoke from forest fires caused "unhealthy" levels of pollution in six areas.

Environment Department director general Rosnani Ibarahim said hundreds of forest fires were blazing in the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan and Sumatra, and in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island.

"Malaysia started to record an increase in hotspot numbers since Sunday due to the dry weather and open burning activities which spread very fast," she told AFP.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded unhealthy levels of between 102 and 137 in six areas on Wednesday morning, including a district of the capital Kuala Lumpur, two in surrounding Selangor state, and three in Sarawak.

The API considers a score of 101-200 to be unhealthy, while 51-100 is moderate.

An official from the Meteorological Services Department said the heavy haze caused visibility levels to fall to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in Selangor as well as Malacca, a tourist destination south of the capital.

Farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia's half of Borneo island burn forests every year to clear land for agriculture, sending plumes of smoke across neighbouring countries.

The haze hit its worst level in 1997-1998, costing the Southeast Asian region an estimated nine billion dollars by disrupting air travel and other business activities.

Dumai airport closed as haze worsens
The Jakarta Post 5 Aug 09;

Authorities have again closed Dumai's Pinang Kampai airport in Riau on Wednesday as haze in the area worsens, state news agency Antara reports.

"Today, the airport is temporarily closed. We don't know yet how long the closure will be as the haze is still thick," airport control tower official Van Switen Sitanggang told Antara.

The closure has affected at least two flights, a Pelita Air flight from Jakarta and a Riau Airlines flight from Pekanbaru.

Sitanggang said Pelita Air had informed the airport authorities that it had cancelled its flight to Dumai.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), which was scheduled to travel on the Riau Airlines flight, reportedly decided to take road transportation to Dumai.

Antara reported that visibility in Dumai had dropped to below 50 meters, forcing motorists to slow down.

Thick haze shrouds Malaysia
Worst levels this year in six areas; PSI also rises in Singapore
Straits Times 6 Aug 09;

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia was yesterday hit with the worst haze levels recorded this year, as smoke from forest fires in Indonesia caused unhealthy levels of pollution in six areas.

Singapore was affected too, as its Pollution Standards Index (PSI) hit the moderate range for the first time since February.

The director-general of the Malaysian Environment Department, Datuk Rosnani Ibrahim, said that hundreds of forest fires were blazing in the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan and Sumatra, and in Sarawak in Malaysia.

'Malaysia has started to record an increase in hot spot numbers since Sunday due to the dry weather and open-burning activities which spread very fast,' she said.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded unhealthy levels of between 102 and 137 in six areas yesterday morning, including a district of the capital Kuala Lumpur, two in surrounding Selangor state, and three in Sarawak.

The API considers a score of 101-200 to be unhealthy, while 51-100 is moderate.

An official from the Meteorological Services Department said the heavy haze caused visibility levels to drop to 2km in Selangor and in Malacca.

Visibility in one town in Sarawak was down to less than 800m, according to the department. Generally, visibility throughout Malaysia is at least 4km. Visibility on a clear day exceeds 10km.

The authorities in Indonesia's Riau province yesterday closed the airport in Dumai temporarily as visibility levels fell to less than 50m, the Antara state news agency reported.

In Singapore, the PSI crept up to 52 yesterday, which is just inside the moderate range.

In February, bush fires in Singapore combined with scorching temperatures and weak winds to push the PSI to 57.

In the next two weeks, the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Services Division said slightly hazy conditions could be expected for a few days because of the prevailing south-west monsoon conditions, which bring drier weather.

Each year during the dry season, Indonesian farmers set fire illegally to forests to clear land for planting, sending plumes of smoke drifting towards neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.

The two countries have long complained about the haze, which hit its worst level in 1997-1998.

It cost the South-east Asian region an estimated US$9 billion (S$13 billion) by disrupting air travel and other business activities.

Indonesia has argued that it lacks the money and the resources to stem the illegal practice of setting fires to forests and also to fight them.

Malaysia's Environment Minister Douglas Uggah Embas is scheduled to attend a regional meeting in Riau this weekend to discuss the problem.

He has reportedly proposed building dams in peat swamps to draw water to fight the fires.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Additional reporting by Amresh Gunasingham in Singapore

Forest fires worsen, haze covers Malaysia
Adianto P Simamora, The Jakarta Post 6 Aug 09;

Forest fires continued to rage across the country, blanketing neighbor Malaysia in haze on Wednesday, which caused temporary closure of Dumai's Pinang Kampar airport in Riau as visibility dropped to below 50 meters.

The WWF Indonesia has detected 1,608 fire hot spots across the country on Wednesday, the highest number in the last five days with a total of 5,349.

The hot spots are spread mostly in Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra and West Kalimantan provinces.

Fires blazing in Indonesia sent a blanket of haze over neighboring Malaysia's largest city, obscuring the sun and leaving an acrid smell in the air, the Associated Press reported from Kuala Lumpur.

It said the pollution caused air quality to drop to unhealthy levels in Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak state in eastern Malaysia.

Malaysia's Department of Environment readings showed air quality was "unhealthy" in six areas around Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak.

Only three of 50 monitoring stations across Malaysia recorded "good" air quality, while elsewhere it was "moderate."

Visibility in one town in Sarawak was down to less than 800 meters, according to the Meteorological Department. Generally visibility throughout Malaysia was at least 4 kilometers. Visibility on a clear day exceeds 10 kilometer.

Indonesian State Minister for Environment Rachmat Witoelar and his Malaysian counterpart Douglas Unggah Embas are scheduled to meet in Riau province to discuss the forest fire problems Saturday.

Official from Indonesia said the haze blanketing Malaysia was not from Indonesia since forest fires also happened in Malaysia.

"It is too early to complain that such haze comes from Indonesia," Illyas Asaad, deputy environment minister for law enforcement told The Jakarta Post.

He said the government had yet to take urgent plans to tackle the forest fires in Indonesia.

Indonesian Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban said Tuesday that the government would only take firm action to control fires if haze disturbed flights and sparked protests in Malaysia and Singapore.

Head of the Riau environment agency, Fadrizal Labay, denied the haze from forest fires in Riau had reached Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia and Singapore have complained since 1997 about haze drifting from Indonesia. The last time a severe haze affected those countries was in 2006.

Official at the control tower of Dumai's Pinang Kampai airport in Riau, Van Switen Sitanggang said the airport was closed again Wednesday morning as the haze in the area worsens. The closure has affected at least two flights, a Pelita Air flight from Jakarta and a Riau Airlines flight from Pekanbaru.

Rizal Harahap from Pekanbaru contributed to this report.