Indonesia: Satellites detect 747 hot spots in Sumatra

Antara 2 Apr 12;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Satellites from the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) have detected 747 hot spots in Sumatera during March, according to the Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

A local analyst of BMKG Pekanbaru, Aristya Ardhitama, said the hot spots were detected in eight provinces in Sumatera.

"Most of the hot spots appeared on Wednesday, March 21, when the satellites detected at least 169," he said.

The number of hot spots in Riau reached 60, 32 in Jambi, 25 in South Sumatera, 21 in West Sumatera, 11 in Aceh, 10 in North Sumatera, nine in Bengkulu, and one in Lampung, according to officials.

The next largest number of hot spots were detected on Thursday, March 22, with 114 spots.

"Most of the hot spots are still in Riau Province, reaching 42 spots," he added.

According to Ardhitama, the high frequency of hot spots in most of Sumatra was caused by weather disruptions, such as low pressure areas formed in the Philippines.

He predicted that the number of hot spots might decrease when the rainy season begins in April.

(SYS/KR-BSR/O001)

Editor: Suryanto