Indonesia: Ongoing haze disrupting schools, flights

Rizal Harahap and Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 19 Sep 14;

The dense haze that has plagued parts of Sumatra for the past few days is raising health concerns and disrupting flights.

In Pekanbaru, Riau, parents of elementary school students are worried about the health of their children and have urged the government to put schools on leave.

Mother of a first and a sixth grader in Pekanbaru, Nur Latifah, said the provincial administration should have already put schools on leave because the thick haze has shown no signs of receding. Air Pollution Standard Index (PSI) boards have shown that the air quality has reached 197 PSI, an unhealthy level.

“No one wants their children to miss out on lessons due to schools being closed, but elementary school children are at great risk of acute respiratory tract infections from the smog,” Nur said on Thursday.

She also expressed surprise that the government had not yet distributed masks to schools.

Another parent, Budiman, expressed his annoyance over the recurring annual haze.

“Residents of Riau have been affected by the haze twice this year alone. Why can’t the government find a solution?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Pekanbaru Health Agency acting head M. Noer said that the policy of closing schools would only be implemented if the air quality reached a dangerous level. “For now, the status is ‘healthy’. We’re urging students to minimize outdoor activities,” said Noer.

Data from the Health Agency reveals that as many as 1,972 residents have suffered acute respiratory infections (ISPA) over the past week. Noer said he had ordered community health centers (Puskesmas) to distribute masks to residents to minimize the impact of the haze.

In Jambi, residents are also suffering from the worsening smog.

The Jambi Environmental Management Board (BLHID) has announced that the air quality in Jambi is of an unsafe standard.

“According to our manual calculations, the air pollutant standards index in Jambi has risen above 100. This figure indicates poor air quality,” head of BLHID’s Jambi branch Rosmeli said on Thursday.

Jambi Governor Hasan Basri Agus said that his administration would stop all schooling activities should the air quality worsen.

Haze also blanketed Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, on Thursday, causing a Garuda Indonesia flight to be canceled.

Meanwhile, incoming flights to Pekanbaru were forced to land at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, on Thursday as visibility at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru was down to 700 meters.

Hang Nadim Airport flight safety chief Indah Irwansyah said that all aircraft were allowed to fly again at around 12 a.m. following an improvement in the weather in Pekanbaru.

Elsewhere, the thickening haze blanketing Pontianak in West Kalimantan has also affected the air quality of neighboring Malaysia. The Star online portal reported on Wednesday that haze across southern Sarawak worsened overnight. On Tuesday, the air pollution index (API) in the area was around 80, but by noon on Wednesday, it had reached 119.

— JP/Apriadi Gunawan also contributed to the story from Medan