Haze in Indonesia: Light smog hangs over Dumai

Antara 10 Feb 11;

Dumai, Sumatera (ANTARA News) - Most of areas in Dumai, Riau, is covered by light smog which was presumed to have come from forest and land fires.

Indra (27), a local resident, said here Thursday the light smog started to be seen since Wednesday (Feb 9) from midnight until Thursday morning.

"The smog looked light but I hope the local government will pay more attention to this situation and can take early preventive measures against the thickness of the fog," he said.

In the meantime, another local resident, Devi (26), said she was worried about the unhealthy condition and hoped the government would immediately distribute masks among the public in anticipating Acute Respiratory Infection (AIR).

"Fog can cause ARI. Therefore, I hope the masks will be distributed among residents soon to prevent the outbreak of health problems ," she said.

An ANTARA reporter saw light smog covering most parts of Dumai especially the city`s streets.

Earlier, an officer of the Riau Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Marzuki, had said at least 80 hot spots had been detected by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since Tuesday (Feb 2). In Riau, at least 29 hot spots had been found and two of them were discovered in Dumai.

Marzuki said the hot spots had increased probably because the air temperature had risen to 32 degrees Celsius.