The Star 14 Sep 15;
JAKARTA: Indonesia on Monday declared a state of emergency in a province choked with thick haze from forest fires, as fears mounted that worsening air quality could affect the upcoming Grand Prix in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
The emergency announcement in Riau province on Sumatra island came as aircraft were deployed to water-bomb the raging blazes and conduct “cloud-seeding”, which involves chemically inducing rain.
Smog-belching fires are an annual problem during the dry season in Indonesia. Vast tracts of land are cleared on Sumatra and the Indonesian part of Borneo island, using illegal slash-and-burn methods to make way for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations.
The blazes intensified in the past fortnight, sending smog over Sumatra and Borneo that has left tens of thousands ill, forced people to wear face masks and prompted the cancellation of flights and school closures.
Although there were more fires in other provinces, Riau has been one of the worst-hit as smog blows in from the surrounding areas.
Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar announced the state of emergency and said that more heath posts would be set up in Riau.
Arsyad Juliandi Rachman, Riau acting governor, said assistance would now be requested from the central government, state-run news agency Antara reported.
Air quality has also been worsening in Singapore just east of Sumatra and Malaysia. Authorities in Singapore said it was in the upper end of the "“unhealthy” range late Monday, with smog shrouding the city-state and a smell of burning wood.
There were concerns about the potential impact on next weekend’s Formula One, with organisers saying they were monitoring the haze.
“In the event that the haze caused visibility, public health or operational issues, Singapore GP would work closely with the relevant agencies before making any collective decisions regarding the event,” a Singapore GP spokesman said in a statement. - AFP
Emergency declared as Indonesia air quality plummets
Today Online 14 Sep 15;
JAKARTA — Indonesia declared a state of emergency in Sumatra’s Riau province today (Sept 14) after forest fires put its air quality at a dangerous level.
The worsening situation in Sumatra, west of Java, prompted the Indonesian military to step up efforts to extinguish the fires and assist residents facing health issues caused by the smoke.
An assessment is being made to determine if more troops should be deployed, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told Channel NewsAsia.
The government is serious about putting out the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but that would take up to three weeks, she added.
According to Ms Nurbaya, her Singaporean counterpart has been in touch to find out if any Singaporean companies were affected by the fires.
The ministry is still studying the data, but revealed some Malaysian companies were involved in the
Kalimantan fires.
The Riau Acting Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman told local media today that following the declaration of a state of emergency, he would further increase the number of health posts, and ask all community health centres in Riau to open for 24 hours, with at least one doctor available in each.
In addition, Riau would also ask the central government to take immediate action to help it tackle the problem, since the majority of the hot spots originate in other provinces.
Earlier today, Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said that more than 1,000
Indonesian troops were sent to the provinces of South Sumatra and Jambi, two of the main hot spots.
“We have mobilised national resources to put out the fires,” newly appointed BNPB chief Willem Rampangilei said in a press release earlier today, adding that the agency would also send in additional helicopters to help water-bomb fires if necessary.
Today, it was reported that hot spots in Sumatra rose to 982 — the highest in two months — with satellite imagery showing most of the hot spots in the provinces of South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.
Air quality in the three provinces has reached hazardous levels, which means the Pollutants Standard Index (PSI) is above 301.
The very high levels of pollutants has forced schools and airports to close.
The seriousness of the situation has also prompted health experts to urge authorities to evacuate residents from affected areas.
South Sumatra, one of the main centres of the fires, has alone reported 22,585 cases of acute respiratory tract infections since Friday.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia today, 30 of the country’s 52 air-quality monitoring stations tipped into the
“unhealthy” range, with the town of Banting in Selangor recording the highest Air Pollution Index (API) reading of 171, while the administrative capital of Putrajaya recorded an API of 161.
Singapore experienced its worst haze in two years last Friday, with the three-hour PSI breaching the 200-mark, hitting 207 at 11pm and reaching a high of 248 at 3am early Saturday morning.
The haze is at its worst since 2013, when the PSI soared to a choking 401 in June that year.
The smog blanketing the region put pressure on Indonesia to take action, but progress has been slow in enacting measures such as a regional haze monitoring system.
Singapore last year enacted the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, which allows entities causing or contributing to unhealthy levels of haze here to be fined up to S$2 million. AGENCIES
Haze Emergency Declared In Riau
Bernama 15 Sep 15;
JAKARTA, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- The Indonesian government today declared a state of emergency in Riau after the haze situation in the region was reported to be at a dangerous level.
The local media reported the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in the region to exceed 900 with a visibility of less than 100 metre, hence paralysing all economic and social activities, including at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport.
Riau local daily, Tribun Pekanbaru, quoted Acting Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman as saying that the capital of Riau, Pekanbaru, is in a very unhealthy situation.
He said the air quality had reached a dangerous level with API reading exceeding 1000.
Meanwhile, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar was quoted as saying that the local authorities in Riau had been instructed to open health posts.
She said the authorities were also monitoring operations to douse the forest fires and in plantations in Jambi and South Sumatra.
Thick smoke due to forest fires in both the areas was said to have caused serious haze in Malaysia and Singapore.
Siti Nurbaya said efforts douse the forest flames were being intensified using aircraft to water-bomb the raging blazes and conduct cloud-seeding.
"As of now, 18 million litres of water has been poured in Riau and 12 million litres in South Sumatera for the water bomb, and for cloud seeding, 120 tonne of salt has been used in Riau and another 56 tonne in South Sumatra and Jambi," she added.
President Jokowi, who is now visiting the Middle-East countries, was reported to have directed authorities to take action against those responsible for the forest fires.
-- BERNAMA
Indonesia: Nearly 1,000 hotspots detected in Sumatra as haze thickens
Air quality levels deteriorated in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore as satellite imagery detected 982 hotspots in Sumatra on Monday.
Sujadi Siswo, Channel NewsAsia 14 Sep 15;
JAKARTA: Hotspots in Sumatra rose to 982 on Monday (Sep 14) the highest in two months. Satellite images showed most of the hotspots, suspected to be caused by forest fires, were in the provinces of South Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.
Air quality in the three provinces has reached hazardous levels which means the Pollutants Standard Index is above PSI-301.
The very high levels of pollutants has forced schools and airports to close. The seriousness of the situation has also prompted health experts to urge authorities to evacuate residents from affected areas.
Smoke from the forests fires has affected neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, blanketing parts of both countries in haze in recent days, with air quality reaching to unhealthy levels of more than PSI-101.
Jakarta has set up a task force to tackle the situation and has also deployed more than 1,000 soldiers to south Sumatra to help extinguish the fires. Several provinces in Kalimantan are also experiencing forest fires and just like Sumatra, most of the fires were found to be on plantation land.
"It's not easy to put out the fires in South Sumatra," said Dr Siti Nurabaya Bakar, Indonesia's Minister of Forestry and the Environment. "They are in peatlands and cover a huge area. There are also difficulties getting water and extending the hose. But we can still do it. We are trying to reach the difficult areas. There are 1,050 soldiers in South Sumatra already."
The Indonesian central government has yet to declare the situation in Sumatra a national disaster, which would then trigger a massive mobilisation of personnel and resources from Jakarta to tackle the forest fires.
However a state of emergency has been declared in the province of Riau in Sumatra. The Indonesian military has now taken over efforts to extinguish the fires and help the population to cope with health issues that accompany the smoke-filled pollution.
Dr Siti Nurbaya said an assessment is being made to determine whether extra troop deployments are necessary.
"Today an emergency has been declared in Riau," she said. "But in South Sumatra, visibility is not a problem. Aircraft can still operate. In Jambi, the situation is fluctuating. The big fire in Jambi was put out last Saturday."
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, Dr Siti Nurbaya said Indonesia is serious about putting out the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan which could take up to three weeks. She added that she has been in contact with her Singapore counterpart Mr Vivian Balakrishnan.
"I was on the phone with Singapore's environment minister and he requested Indonesia do its best," Ms Siti Nurbaya told Channel NewsAsia. "I explained what we have done so far. We have deployed soldiers. We have conducted water bombing in Riau with 18 million litres of water. In South Sumatra and Jambi, we have conducted water bombings with 12 million litres of water.
"We have done cloud-seeding in Riau with 120 tonnes of salt and 56 tonnes of salt in South Sumatra. We have done everything. I was trying to convince the minister that we are serious in putting out the fire."
Singapore's National Environment Agency said Dr Siti Nurbaya agreed to Dr Balakrishan's request to name the companies suspected of causing the forest fires.
Said the Indonesian minister: "He asked if he could have the names of companies especially those linked to Singapore - be them investors, shareholders or management," she said. "I said the data is still being prepared and I will inform him whether there are links to Singapore."
More than 70 people have been so far been arrested on suspicion of burning their land. However, only one was reported to be from a plantation company despite authorities claiming that such companies were the main culprits for starting the fires.
- CNA/jb
Haze causes chaos at Pekanbaru airport
thejakartapost.com 13 Sep 15;
Nineteen flights were canceled at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Sunday because of thick haze, airport authorities have said.
“Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Sriwijaya and Fire Fly have informed us of the cancellation of their flights for today,” said the airport’s duty manager Hasnan as quoted by Antara.
The four airlines, Hasnan said, which had cancelled their flights since Saturday, served both domestic and international routes, including from Pekanbaru to Jakarta, Medan and Kuala Lumpur.
He added that 68 flights should have departed from and arrived at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport, Pekanbaru, on Sunday, but as of noon, no flight activity had taken place, with visibility reduced to between 300 and 500 meters on Sunday morning. At around 10 a.m., visibility increased to around 1,000 meters.
Citing data provided by the airport’s information center, Hasnan said two airlines had informed the authorities that their flights would be ready for landing despite limited visibility of around 1,000 meters. The flights in question were an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur and a Citilink flight from Batam. (ebf)
Indonesia water-bombs forest fires to fight haze
AFP AsiaOne 14 Sep 15;
An Mi-17 helicopter dumps water on a burning forest at Ogan Komering Ulu area in Indonesia's south Sumatra province September 10, 2015.
JAKARTA - Helicopters Monday water-bombed raging forest fires that have cloaked parts of Indonesia in thick haze and pushed air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
Fourteen helicopters were dumping water on blazes on western Sumatra island and the Indonesian part of Borneo island and "cloud-seeding", which involves using chemicals to induce rain, the country's disaster agency said.
Authorities had struggled last week to start such operations as the haze was so thick that it was too dangerous for aircraft to fly.
Smog-belching fires are an annual problem during the dry season in Indonesia, where vast tracts of land are cleared using illegal slash-and-burn methods to make way for huge palm oil and pulp and paper plantations.
The blazes intensified in the past fortnight, sending smog over Sumatra and Borneo that has left tens of thousands ill, forced people to wear face masks and prompted the cancellation of flights and school closures.
Air quality has deteriorated in the city-state of Singapore and Malaysia in recent days, as wind carries the smog from Indonesia.
Smog continued to shroud Singapore Monday, with air quality at unhealthy levels.
Two outdoor races scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, while organisers of the Formula One due to be held in the city-state reportedly said they are closely monitoring the haze in case it affects the event.
Haze levels have steadily been rising in Malaysia, with buildings more than a kilometre (0.6 miles) away in the capital Kuala Lumpur appearing as vague silhouettes. On Monday, 29 of the country's 52 air-quality monitoring stations tipped into the "unhealthy" range.
As of late Sunday, more than 1,100 "hotspots" - areas with high temperatures that are either already on fire or likely to soon go up in flames - were detected by satellites on Sumatra and the Indonesian part of Borneo, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
"Even when blazes are successfully extinguished, people then start new fires," Nugroho said, adding that the police were investigating 26 companies and scores of people over the illegal blazes.
Pressure to stop the annual outbreaks of smog has increased since 2013 when Southeast Asia suffered its worst air pollution crisis for more than a decade, but joint attempts by countries in the region to find a solution have moved slowly.
