Indonesian Haze Spreads as Forest Fires Continue to Burn

Nurfika Osman Jakarta Globe 20 Aug 11;

Thick haze from forest fires has blanketed much of Kalimantan for the past week, affecting major cities like Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan, and threatening flights in the area.

Kalimantan is known for its rain forests and wildlife, as well as an annual haze from fires set to clear land for planting.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on Friday that a total of 26 hot spots, or areas in satellite imaging indicating high temperatures and the likelihood of fire, were found across the region.

According to the BMKG, eight hot spots were found near Palangkaraya on Friday, down from 40 on Tuesday.

It said the number of hot spots found each day changed because of factors like temperature, precipitation, humidity and wind speed and direction.

On Wednesday, there were no hot spots detected near Palangkaraya after rain had fallen on the city overnight.

Erni, an official at the city’s Tjilik Riwut Airport, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the haze had not had a significant impact on operations at the airport.

“The haze has been thick through to today, especially in the afternoon,” she said. “But so far the airport has been able to operate normally.”

Erni said the haze was particularly bad on Tuesday, when several flights were delayed by up to two hours. “But conditions got better on Wednesday when we experienced some rain,” she said.

The BMKG had previously warned that as the peak of the dry season approached in July and August, when high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds are common, choking haze from forest fires could pose a major health problem for people across the region.

The Environment Ministry said it was training local governments and community members to respond to the fires. If the fires were to get out of control, however, it said it would cooperate with the Forestry Ministry and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to manage the problem.

Experts have said that the annual haze from fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra is an ongoing issue because forests continue to be burned as a cheap method of clearing land.

The practice is illegal but enforcement has been poor, in part because of the lack of law enforcement in remote regions and the vast areas of land involved.