Indonesia: Satellites detected 801 hotspots across Indonesia

Antara 17 Sep 18;

Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected a total of 801 hotspots, indicating forest and plantation fires, across Indonesia, on Monday.

The hotspots were of moderate- and high-risk categories, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), noted in a statement.

In West Kalimantan Province, 272 hotspots were detected.

"Of the 272 hotspots, 149 are categorized as moderate and 123 as high risk," he stated.

Haze shrouded Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan Province, from dawn until 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday and later disappeared due to the wind.

Earlier, Ins. Gen. Didi Haryono, the West Kalimantan police chief, urged local inhabitants to help put out wildfires as the efforts could not be made by the military and police personnel alone.

Banjarmasin, the provincial capital of South Kalimantan, and North Barito in Central Kalimantan were also shrouded by haze on Monday morning.

The ongoing prolonged drought has caused water shortage in several regions, such as in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Java, and triggered fires in forest areas, particularly in West Kalimantan and Central Java.

In West Kalimantan, schools were recently closed, as forest fires produced smoke that could affect the health of students.

The national disaster mitigation office deployed four helicopters to help extinguish the fires.

Meanwhile, through legal enforcement and firm control, the Indonesian government has managed to reduce forest fires by 96.5 percent across the country during the 2015-2017 period.

Based on data obtained from NOAA`s satellites, 21,929 hotspots were found across Indonesia in 2015, and the figure dropped to 3,915 in 2016, and again 2,257 in 2017, according to Raffles B. Panjaitan, director of forest and plantation fire control of the environmental affairs and forestry ministry.

The wild fires had razed a total of 2,611,411 hectares in 2015, and the figure decreased to 438,360 hectares in 2016 and again to 165,464 hectares in 2017.

Reporting by Andilala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf

Haze shrouds Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan
Antara 17 Sep 18;

A traffic policeman regulates the flow of vehicles on Jalan Ahmad Yani in Banjar District, South Kalimantan due to thick haze. (ANTARA Photo/Herry Murdy Hermawan)

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Haze from forest fires has shrouded Banjarmasin City, the capital of South Kalimantan Province, on Monday morning.

In residential and farming areas in Pemurus, South Banjarmasin Sub-district, the smoke was quite thick and permeated the closed doors of homes.

Hana, a local inhabitant of Pemurus, said despite being indoors, she experienced irritation in the eyes due the smoke.

Several people were forced to wear face masks due to the smoke.

Indonesia is currently experiencing severe dry season that has induced forest fires on the islands of Java, Kalimantan, and Sumatra.

The ongoing prolonged drought has caused water shortage in several regions, such as in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Java, and triggered fires in forest areas, particularly in West Kalimantan and Central Java.

In West Kalimantan, schools were recently closed, as forest fires produced smoke that could affect the health of students.

The national disaster mitigation office has deployed four helicopters to help extinguish the fires.

On Java Island, wildfires were reported on at least three mountainous areas: Mount Lawu, Mount Sindoro, and Mount Argpuro.

At least 30-hectare forest areas were razed by fires on Mount Lawu, which is located on the border of the provinces of Central and East Java.

Joint efforts have been made over the past few days to extinguish the forest fire, but the prolonged drought and strong winds had hindered the fire fighters` endeavors, Djohan Surjoputro, Mount Lawu`s administrative authority, stated recently.

Several hundred people, including local volunteers and personnel of state-owned forestry company Perhutani, military, police, and environment agency, participated in the joint efforts.

A forest fire also engulfed certain parts of Mount Sindoro in Temanggung District, Central Java Province, though, according to a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, it could have been extinguished.

The forest fire destroyed some 156 hectares of land, and the local authorities had still closed the mountain`s climbing trails, BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho remarked.

Reporting by Sukarli
Editing by Fardah