Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post 5 Oct 15;
Air quality reached officially dangerous levels on Sunday in many parts of West Sumatra as a result of worsening haze as the province’s international cycling race Tour de Singkarak (TdS) reached its second day.
The “dangerous” level was hit in the central and eastern parts of the province, as the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station in Bukit Kotoabang, Agem regency, recorded the particulate matter (PM10) at 488 per cubic meter (µg/m³) at 11 a.m., though the level decreased to “unhealthy” with a PM10 of 337 µg/m³ at 2 p.m.
According to the government’s existing guidelines, air quality is considered “healthy” if its PM10 level stands below 50 µg/m³, “moderate” when the level stands between 50 and 150 µg/m³, “unhealthy” between 150 and 350 µg/m³, “very unhealthy” between 350 and 420 µg/m³ and “dangerous” when it surpasses 420 µg/m³.
Last week, GAW station reported PM10 was measured at 436 micrograms µg/m³, the highest level recorded this year.
Station head Edison Kurniawan predicted that smoke from land and forest fires would continue to blankest West Sumatra for the next two days.
“[Haze] will continue since there are still hot spots in South Sumatra and Jambi and West Sumatra is still dry, so the air tends to be unhealthy,” Edison said on Sunday.
He had, he said, advised the TdS organizing committee that from the first stage of the race, beginning at Carocok Beach in Pesisir Selatan regency, until the fifth stage ending at Payakumbuh, the air quality would reach the “unhealthy” level, while from the sixth stage until the end of the ninth stage at Gandoriah Beach in Padang Pariaman regency, the level would be either “moderate” or “healthy”.
“We have made our analysis and, so far, it’s turned out to be correct. Of course, the committee has the right to decide whether the race continues,” Edison told The Jakarta Post.
In Padang, the capital of the province, the haze was lighter than the previous day, while in Solok city and Solok regency, where dozens of international cyclists reached the finish line of stage 2, the smog was very thick, with visibility below 500 meters and an acrid stench of burnt wood. The race stretches a total 163.2 kilometers.
Most people in the regency went about their business without wearing a protective mask, though some covered their noses with their shirts or scarves.
Efendy, a local resident who went to watch the cycling race at Sumani, near Lake Singkarak, said the thick smog had blanketed the regency for a month.
“The government still hasn’t distributed masks. Many school kids don’t have masks either, since if you want to buy one, you have to go to Solok city,” the 49-year-old said on Sunday.
Thick smog has similarly been blanketing Tabalong regency in South Kalimantan, especially in the western parts of the regency close to forest and plantation areas.
“Forest fires in protected forest in Gunung Batu Kumpai, Jaro district, have been burning for four days, destroying hundreds of hectares of the forests,” Tabalong Production Forest Management head Yandi Sa’ban was quoted as saying by Antara news agency on Sunday.
- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/05/air-quality-west-sumatra-again-hits-dangerous-level.html#sthash.YUL72eGA.dpuf
Jakarta intensifies haze battle as hot spots rise
Francis Chan and Shannon Teoh, Straits Times AsiaOne 5 Oct 15;
Indonesia has deployed 2,100 more troops to help fight fires in South Sumatra after a sudden surge in hot spots yesterday.
With these reinforcements, there are now about 3,700 soldiers and policemen in the province trying to control the blaze behind the thick haze, which has not only blanketed many parts of Indonesia, but also close neighbours Singapore and Malaysia in recent weeks.
The authorities in Malaysia have ordered nearly all schools to close for the next two days, while flights at three airports were temporarily affected - as air pollution hit hazardous levels in Peninsular Malaysia.
The impact of the transboundary haze prompted Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to raise concerns yesterday over Indonesian President Joko Widodo's three-year timeline to resolve a decades-old crisis. "While we are grateful that the Indonesian government is doing what they can to solve the issue, we think the plan takes too long for us to see the effectiveness," he said.
Mr Joko told the BBC last week that it would take three years to solve the haze problem caused by illegal forest fires as preventive measures would take time to kick in. Mr Zahid, however, said the steps being mooted by Indonesia must be implemented and not remain as proposals.
Malaysian Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid yesterday ordered all schools, except those in Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak, to suspend classes today and tomorrow. The closures, prompted by "very unhealthy" air, according to Malaysia's Air Pollutant Index (API), are the third in under a month, and affect the most number of states. Malaysia's API and the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) used by Singapore and Indonesia are closely related - readings over 100 are deemed unhealthy.
At least seven areas in Malaysia recorded "very unhealthy" readings, while the API in Shah Alam, just west of Kuala Lumpur, dipped into the "hazardous" range. Of the 52 areas that Malaysia monitors, more than 20 had unhealthy air.
Singapore enjoyed relatively clearer skies yesterday, with the PSI reading dropping from a range of 144 to 178 at 1am to between 78 and 92 in the moderate range as at 8pm. Today, the air quality is expected to be in the high end of the moderate range (51-100) and low end of the unhealthy range (101-200).
Indonesia, however, was not as fortunate. Satellites yesterday detected 1,840 hot spots over Sumatra island, with 1,340 concentrated in oil palm, rubber and pulpwood plantations in South Sumatra's Ogan Komering Ilir regency. Kalimantan, another island badly hit by forest fires and the haze, had 257 fires, with 108 in the central region.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said the lack of clouds above South Sumatra meant cloud-seeding operations would not have any impact, "but several water-bombing helicopters will be shifted to Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin".
Central Kalimantan is the worst hit among Indonesia's provinces. PSI levels in its capital Palangkaraya peaked at 1,949 yesterday morning.
Mr Joko said he is keeping a close eye on the firefighting efforts. "We will keep putting out fires by air and land... let's all do our part to help put out the fires, and resolve the haze."
Police question foreign firms over forest fires
The Jakarta Post 5 Oct 15;
The National Police are investigating two foreign companies for alleged involvement in causing land and forest fires in Central and West Kalimantan.
National Police spokesperson Agus Rianto identified the two companies as Chinese-owned PT ASP and Australian-owned PT KAL.
“Two foreign investors are currently under investigation, namely, PT ASP [in Central Kalimantan] and PT KAL [in West Kalimantan],” Agus said on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.
The government has recorded a total of 42 million hectares of land on fire in Sumatra and Kalimantan while the police are currently working on 238 cases.
Agus added that of the 238 cases, 191 involved individual perpetrators while 47 involved corporations.
“Two hundred and five people have been named suspects in individual cases while 11 people have been named suspects in the corporate cases. Seventy-two people have been detained,” he said.
A prolonged dry season and arid peatland have resulted in forest fires, which has led to spreading haze in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Singapore as well as parts of Malaysia.
Govt to provide compensation for haze victims
Ayomi Amindoni, thejakartapost.com 6 Oct 15;
The government is planning to provide compensation for haze victims in six provinces across Sumatra, a minister has said.
Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said on Monday that Indonesian people who were unable to work as a result of the haze currently blanketing areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan would receive cash assistance of Rp 900,000 (US$62.30) per person.
"They will receive a daily compensation payment of Rp 10,000 for 90 days. So, each person will get Rp 900,000. Now, we are still calculating the exact number of victims," said Khofifah as quoted by tempo.co on Monday.
The minister said the government considered that 25 percent, or around 1.2 million haze victims were on a low income because they were family welfare card (KKS) holders.
She further said the compensation budget would be taken from the State Treasurer’s budget department. “We are still discussing the matter with the National Development Planning Agency [Bappenas] and the Finance Ministry,” she added.
Khofifah also said that the government had continued to monitor the handling of the fires to ensure that logistical supports could reach everyone affected.
“We want to make sure that logistical support for people remains adequate for safety,” she said.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said that based on NASA satellite data, at least 1,820 hot spots were identified across 13 regions as of Sunday.
BNPB head of data information and public relations, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the most severe fires were in Sumatra, among its 1,563 hot spots. South Sumatra had the highest number of hot spots, with 1,340. Jambi recorded 131 hot spots, Lampung 57, Bangka Belitung 22, Riau nine and just one in Riau Islands.
Similarly, at least 257 hot spots in Kalimantan had not yet been extinguished as of Monday. Central Kalimantan recorded 108 hot spots, followed by South Kalimantan with 71, West Kalimantan with 51 and East Kalimantan with 27.
Limited visibility has disrupted flight schedules in several areas. The visibility in Jambi and Pekanbaru has reduced to only 500 meters while in Sintang, South Kalimantan, it is only 400 meters. In Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, haze has reduced visibility to only around 100 meters.
Sutopo said the BNPB had dispatched seven helicopters and water bombing aircraft, as well as one Casa aircraft, to extinguish fires. In addition, a joint police-military team comprising 1,594 personnel had been deployed to South Sumatra to reinforce the existing fire task force.
"Now there is a total 3,694 personnel deployed to extinguish the fires," he said. (ebf)
