Indonesia haze: hot spots in 361 locations in Sumatra

Antara 12 Sep 11;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The number of hot spots in Sumatra island has been increasing rapidly to 381 locations, the Riau Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru said.

An analyst of the Riau BMKG Warih Puji Lestari said in Pekanbaru Saturday that of the 381 hot spots monitored by the weather satellite National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 18 currently operated in Singapore, and most of the hotspots are still in South Sumatra reaching 179 spots.

Second, Warih said, was reached by Jambi province with 94 spots, followed by Riau province with 78 spots, Lampung 12, North Sumatra Utara six, Bangka Belitung five, West Sumatra four, Bengkulu two, and Aceh also one hot spot.

"In Riau, the hot spots had been detected in eight regencies, like Rokan Hulu and Siak with one hot spot each, Kampar regency two spots, Rokan Hilir three, Kuantansingingi four, Indragiri Hilir 15, Pelalawan 25 and Indragiri Hulu 27 hot spots.

The high frequency of hot spots in most of Sumatra, especially in Riau, Warih said was caused by the rather hot weather causing dryness in a number of areas especially where they are many mangrove forests or high wild grass.

"This condition should not become worsed by land fires as it will make the climate and air hotter and dryness will become more serious," Warih said.

She predicted that the number of hot spots may increase as the hot season is still in a transition or turn of the tide from the dry to the wet season. (*)

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

Aircraft Take to Skies to Thwart Fires
Dessy Sagita Jakarta Globe 10 Sep 11;

An alarming rise in the number of high-temperature hot spots and haze-causing fires has prompted the deployment of aircraft for rain-making operations.

South Sumatra, which will coco-host the Southeast Asian Games in November, topped the list of regions with the highest number of hot spots, spots of high temperatures detected in satellite imaging that could indicate ground or forest fires.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 8, South Sumatra had 1,792 hot spots, Riau 890, Central Kalimantan 1,777, West Kalimantan 2,733, East Kalimantan 616, Jambi 643, North Sumatra 115 and South Kalimantan 513.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said that three CASA 212-200 aircraft were deployed on Friday to Sumatra and would begin 30 days of rain-inducing operations from Monday.

Two went to South Sumatra and the other to Riau. The operation will be expanded to other fire-affected areas later. Sutopo said 80 percent of the fires happened outside forested areas.

The operation is being conducted with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare. A total of Rp 10.3 billion ($1.2 million) has been earmarked for weather modification technology, popularly known as artificial rain, to put out the forest fires.

Ebiet Mahar Habibie, a resident of Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra, said that thick haze has blanketed the city for more than a month and has been causing respiratory infections for some people.

“It’s difficult to drive with all the haze, as visibility is so bad, especially in the morning,” he told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

Ebiet said he suspected the haze was caused by peatland fires, which are difficult to extinguish, in Indralaya in Musi Banyuasin district.

Many Palembang residents were fearful that the drought and haze could affect the SEA Games, an event locals hope will boost tourism in the city and region.

However, Edvin Aldrian, head of climate change at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said it was unlikely the dry season would last until November, meaning the SEA Games would be spared its impact.

“We predict that the dry season will last for the next month, six weeks at the most, so hopefully the haze will stop before November and it won’t affect the SEA Games,” he said.

Edvin said the temperature of the ocean was not unusual and that the growth of clouds was good, even though it was not enough to generate heavy rain anytime soon.

“The sea temperature isn’t too cold. It it was too cold then we should worry because it could indicate that the dry season and the fires will last longer,” he said.

Experts have blamed the haze on land-clearing fires set by companies and individual farmers. The practice has been outlawed but it’s difficult to enforce because of a lack of resources.

Fires causing haze have been a common feature of Indonesian dry seasons for many years, as have efforts to induce rain.


Wildfires Sweep Mountains in E. Java
Dwi Lusiana Jakarta Globe 11 Sep 11;

Drought and human carelessness are being blamed for massive wildfires that have destroyed more than 150 hectares of vegetation on the slopes of Mount Bromo and Semeru in recent weeks.

The fires have affected 159 hectares of land between the two mountains in East Java, Sutrisno, the head of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS), said on Sunday.

“The fires were sparked by an abandoned campfire and carelessly discarded cigarette butts,” he said.

“The area that has been most badly affected has been Lautan Pasir, which sees the most people because it is the most popular climbing route.”

About 142 hectares of vegetation had been destroyed in the Lautan Pasir area, on the slopes of Bromo.

Sutrisno said religious and spiritual ceremonies that involved candles were another potential fire hazard on the dry slopes of the mountains.

Fires have become an annual occurrence in the park, especially during the dry season when the grass provides the perfect fuel and flames quickly spread between the two mountains, Sutrisno said.

“Our target this year is to limit the fires to 300 hectares, or 30 percent of the total area under the supervision of the national park,” he said.

The park will deploy more personnel to patrol the area with the help of villagers, he said. There are about 200 people, he added, who have been trained to put out fires before they can spread.

Authorities have also built four monitoring posts in park areas most prone to fires, and each post is being manned by 10 people, Sutrisno said.