Indonesia: 260 Hot Spots Detected in Sumatra, Reducing Visibility in Some Areas

The Jakarta Globe 4 Sep 12;

The Padang chapter of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has detected 260 hot spots in Sumatra, mostly in the lower half of the island, in Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung, a report said on Monday.

The Central Kalimantan forestry office also confirmed several forest fires in a number of districts in the province, creating thick smoke that was blown to nearby cities, as the dry season continues in Indonesia.

The condition has prompted concerns that the smoke could blow toward neighboring countries, especially Singapore and Malaysia, which would cause rebukes across the region.

“The hot spots have caused several areas in Sumatra to be blanketed by smoke, including West Sumatra,” Antara news agency quoted Neli Elfira, a weather analyst at the Padang office of the agency known as BMKG, as saying.

Neli said that most of the hot spots were in Jambi and Lampung. But BMKG was not certain how they started, whether caused by fire in dry forests or by land clearing from farmers or plantation companies despite an official ban on using the slash-and-burn method.

The analyst said that dry winds from Australia will continue to head to the Asian mainland in the next few days. There would be no let-off and only rain could reduce the number of hot spots, she said.

“In a climatic condition that is hot and dry, forest fires can erupt easily and therefore people are asked to be more alert,” Neli said.

She said that the smoke is reducing visibility in many areas to just 7 to 10 kilometers, even though the figure was still safe for aviation.

Although banned, land clearing via burning before the new planting season is still being practiced in the face of weak law enforcement.

“We hope the hot spots can decrease and the wind does not blow too strong so that we don’t have to export smoke to our neighboring countries,” said Neli.

In Sampit, Central Kalimantan, the Forestry Ministry office said that it detected 87 hot spots in the district alone.

“Satellite observation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has detected 87 hot spots in August and September,” said Andreas Dody, head of data management at the office.

He expressed fear that the number of hot spots on the island will continue to increase in September as people clear lands using fire during the dry season.

Forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan over the past week have brought to Singapore’s northern areas a “moderate” Pollutant Standards Index reading of 53 as of 4 p.m. on Monday.

On the PSI, an air-quality measurement, a reading of zero to 50 is “good.” Anything above 100 is considered “unhealthy.”

Last week, the poor air quality was noted only in the northern part of Singapore however. Other areas of the island recorded readings of 33 to 41.

Earlier this month, haze from hot spots in Sumatra had also affected Malaysia. The air quality was rated as unhealthy in Perak and Selangor.

Surge in number of hot spots
Cloud seeding in Riau and other provinces fails to contain haze
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 5 Sep 12;

JAKARTA - The number of hot spots in Sumatra and Kalimantan has shot up despite intense cloud seeding efforts by the Indonesian government, raising fears that haze will again choke the region.

Satellite images show that the number of hot spots in Indonesia's most forest fire-prone provinces - Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra - rose to 733 over a three- day period that ended on Monday. That is up substantially from 110 in the previous three-day period.

The smoke has shrouded several cities, including Pekanbaru in Riau, where the country will hold the National Games for two weeks starting from Sept 9.

In Singapore as of yesterday afternoon, pollution readings were "good", ranging from 30 to 40.

In Malaysia, several districts recorded higher-than-normal pollutant levels, although they remained in the "moderate" range, Bernama reported yesterday.

The highest reading at 11am was recorded in Nilai in Negri Sembilan, which had an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 93. Kuala Lumpur's API level was 76, the news agency said.

Indonesia has been pressing provincial governments to enforce a no-burning policy. But implementation and law enforcement have been weak.

In Riau, Mr Marzuki, Pekanbaru's weather forecaster, said: "We haven't had rain for a week, and this has prompted people to burn to clear farmlands."

Farmers and plantation companies often resort to clearing land by cutting down vegetation and burning it, as opposed to using costly excavators. Much of the burning takes place on peat land, which catches fire easily.

Fires and the haze they produce have plagued Sumatra and Kalimantan every year for more than a decade.

But Indonesia remains the only country that has yet to ratify an Asean-wide agreement on cutting out haze pollution across boundaries. The law has been mired in Parliament for years.

This year, Indonesia started major cloud seeding operations on Aug 14. They will go on for 40 days, with a focus on Riau and surrounding provinces. Two Cassa aircraft, two helicopters and a fund of 12 billion rupiah (S$1.6 million) have gone into the operations.

This is to ensure Pekanbaru will have clean air during the National Games, where sportsmen from all 33 provinces compete once every four years.

The cloud seeding has not proven effective so far, despite the government's claims of success. MetroTV yesterday showed a blanket of smoke at the main Rumbai Sport Centre.

In a TV interview, a runner from Riau complained that the smoke was disrupting his daily practice. "I can't breathe freely," he said. "The smoke gets right into my lungs."

The situation could be worse if cloud seeding had not been carried out, claimed the chief spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, Dr Sutopo Purwo Nugrowo.

"We have managed to induce rains in several areas, especially Riau, and kept the number of hot spots to a restrained level," he said.

In Jambi, the air quality index was at 60 yesterday.

"Jambi has been mostly enveloped by the haze since Aug 8, except for a few days with short-lived rains," Mr Muslim Sanusi, a weather forecaster at Jambi's meteorological office, told The Straits Times.

In West Kalimantan, satellite images show that the number of hot spots surged to 495 on Sept 3, from 77 and 26 on Sept 2 and 1 respectively.

Thick haze feared to affect National Games athletes’ health
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 6 Sep 12;

Athletes arriving in Pekanbaru, Riau, from provinces across Indonesia for the upcoming 18th National Games (PON), which will officially begin next Tuesday, expressed their fears on Wednesday about the effect of thick haze blanketing the Games’ venues.

Chairman of the East Kalimantan athletic contingent, Ridwan, said he became worried when the plane he was on landed at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru. “When the plane entered Riau territory, the haze was very thick. I hope such conditions will not disrupt the arrival schedules of other contingents,” he said.

Ridwan hoped the haze would be cleared as soon as possible so, as not to affect the stamina of the athletes who were unused to this phenomenon.

Harry, head of the Maluku contingent, said it was the first time he had seen the thick haze over Riau, an annual spectacle that has been reported by media for years. “We were worried when we saw the haze. Fortunately, after several days of being in Pekanbaru, we are getting used to it,” Harry said.

Head of the West Java contingent management division, Djuharman F, said there was no other choice but to adapt to the extreme weather conditions in Riau. “We can only urge the athletes to adapt to it as soon as possible,” he said.

Besides the haze, it is feared that the high temperatures will also affect the atheles’ performances. One of the basketball players from the Central Java contingent, Rally Pratama, admitted he was having difficulties in the training sessions in Pekanbaru.

“Pekanbaru is the hottest city in Indonesia I’ve ever visited. The weather conditions are worrying, especially in indoor venues. They are causing us a great deal of fatigue,” said the profession basketball player from the Satria Muda Jakarta club.

The thick haze that has descended over the city of Pekanbaru during the last few days has reduced the air quality. According to the Air Pollution Standard Index, levels reached 82 and 80 on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, bordering the category of unhealthy.

Riau Governor HM Rusli Zainal, who is also the chairman of PON XVIII, admitted he was also worried about the dense haze. The Riau branch of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the Riau Forestry Office reported that the thick haze in Riau was blown in from Jambi and South Sumatra provinces. The latest data shows there are 202 forest hotspots across the island of Sumatra, of which 102 are in South Sumatra.

In Riau alone, 19 hotspots were detected on Tuesday, two of which were in Pelalawan regency, eight in Indragiri Hulu, six in Indragiri Hilir and three in Kuantan Sengingi. The number of hotspots overall, however, had dropped sharply from 44 on Sunday and 22 on Monday.

“The BNPB has deployed a Casa 212 airplane and two helicopters to drop cloud seedings in a bid to help extinguish forest and bush fires in Riau,” Rusli said.

Meanwhile, in order to help reduce impact of the haze on the National Games, the Riau Health Office has prepared 50,000 masks to be distributed to 10 regencies and cities where different events for the Games will be held.