Indonesia: Satellites confirm presence of 192 hotspots on Sumatra Island

Antara 12 Aug 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 192 hotspots indicating forest fires across Sumatra Island on Monday morning, a significant spike, from 13 hotspots on Sunday afternoon.

Of the total 192 hotspots, 156 were found in Riau Province, nine in South Sumatra, eight in Jambi, seven in Lampung, four each in North Sumatra and Bangka Belitung, three in Riau Islands, and one in West Sumatra, Sanya Gautami, analyst at the Pekanbaru meteorology station, remarked here on Monday.

In Riau, the detected hotspots comprised 40 in Pelalawan, 29 in Siak, 21 in Rohan Hilir, 15 in Indragiri Hulu, seven each in Meranti Island and Bengkali, six in Kampar, and two each in Kuantan Singingi and Dumai.

Of the 192 hotspots, 116 were identified as fire spots, with 28 detected in Pelalawan, 22 in Siak, 19 in Indragiri Hilir, and 15 in Rohan Hilir.

Haze lowered visibility in Pekanbaru to 2.5 kilometers on Monday at 10 a.m. local time.

Personnel of the forest fire-fighting task force had made all-out efforts to put out the wildfires even on the Islamic Holiday of Idul Adha, also known as the Day of Sacrifice, falling on Sunday (Aug 11, 2019).

Meanwhile, smog emanating from forest fires hung over the provinces of Riau, West Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan though not descending over Singapore and Malaysia, Agus Wibowo, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman, stated.

"The haze blows toward the southeast and north. The smog cover has increased in Riau or Central Kalimantan," Wibowo noted here on Saturday.

The air quality has worsened in Pekanbaru, Riau, and Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. The concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) reached 173, or considered unhealthy, in Pekanbaru, and 126, or moderate, in Palangkaraya.

Based on satellite monitoring on Saturday at 7 a.m. local time, 126 hotspots were found in Riau, four in Jambi, 13 each in South Sumatra and South Kalimantan, 533 in West Kalimantan, and 159 in Central Kalimantan.

At least 1,136 residents of Pekanbaru, Riau Province, have been suffering from upper respiratory tract infections following exposure to haze arising from forest fires raging in the province’s several districts.

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Reporter: FB Anggoro, Fardah
Editor: Suharto

Haze in Palangka Raya causes temporary closure of schools
Antara 12 Aug 19;

Palangka Raya, C Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Palangka Raya Education Office in Central Kalimantan Province temporarily closed schools owing to haze arising from wildfires, the chief Sahdin Hasan stated here, Monday.

All schools were closed to ensure that students stayed at homes to prevent their health from being severely affected by the haze, Hasan explained.

"Those, who have already arrived at schools, may leave and study at home," the chief remarked.

Hasan affirmed that his office had yet to decide on the number of days the schools would remain closed though depending on the haze intensity.

The Palangka Raya City's air pollution standard index (ISPU) at 7:40 WIB on Monday indicated that air quality in the area had reached 650, or very dangerous for people's health.

Related news: Haze-induced respiratory ailments inflict 1,136 Pekanbaru residents

Meanwhile, Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded that the air quality index in Palangka Raya City had reached 148.10 micrograms per cubic meter.

Ferry Santoso, a parent of a student, during an interview at a state school, lauded the office's move and called on the government to step up its move to ease the impacts of the haze.

"The government must not wait for the incident to occur, but they have to take precautionary measures against the wildfire," he stated.

Some 27 hectares of forests and peatlands were burnt down due to humans setting fire to land for the past two weeks.

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Pontianak plans to change school hours owing to haze
Antara 12 Aug 19;

Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Mayor of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Edi Rusdi Kamtono announced the local government's plan to temporarily change school working hours, without dismissing learning activities, in the city owing to the impact of haze arising from land and forest fires.

"We will continue to monitor the air condition in the city since it is still unstable due to haze occurring in the morning, afternoon, and night," Kamtono stated here on Monday.

He explained that the city’s air quality will first be assessed to determine the most ideal school hours. If some thick fog appears in the morning, then the school hours will possibly be postponed without dismissing the class, so teaching and learning activities can continue unhindered.

The Pontianak local government is also considering to reduce the learning hours in the city’s schools if the air quality is not yet favorable. Furthermore, if the air quality has been categorized as very unhealthy, then teaching and learning activities in schools will be temporarily stopped.

"The haze from land fire will not affect the city's educational activities, as it will certainly be highly detrimental to all of us," Kamtono noted.

He mentioned that the haze shrouding Pontianak chiefly sets in from the surrounding area outside the city.

The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Pontianak City noted that the land fires arose in the city only at several points and were not big ones.

"The fires have already been extinguished. Most of this haze is coming from other areas of Kalimantan. We are optimistic of no more land fires," Kamtono remarked.

"I suggest people to reduce their outdoor activities for a while due to the current air condition," he noted.

The mayor also reminded Pontianak’s residents to wear a mask while conducting outdoor activities.

Reporter: Andilala, Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti

Joint team combs Mount Sumbing to ensure fire completely doused
Antara 12 Aug 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A joint team is conducting a thorough search of Mount Sumbing in Wonosobo District, Central Java Province, to ensure that fire raging in the mountain’s forest area on Sunday afternoon was completely extinguished.

"Some 100 personnel comprising officers of the Wonosobo Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), the North Kedu Forestry Office, Wonosobo police and military officers, as well as volunteers have combed the area since Monday morning," Agus Wibowo, acting spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), stated here on Monday.

Wildfire razed a protected forest area in Banyumudal Village, Sapuran Sub-district, in the Mount Sumbing area on Sunday afternoon. The fire was later put out. On Monday morning, however, a smoke was spotted again near the area.

Indonesia has been experiencing severe dry season that has triggered forest fires on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Java.

On Java Island, forest fires were recently reported on Mount Ciremai in Kuningan District, West Java Province, and Mount Arujono in Bumiaji Sub-district, Batu, East Java Province.

Last year, prolonged dry season had triggered wildfires in forest areas located on the slopes of several mountains in the provinces of Central, East, and West Java.

Mount Merbabu, Mount Sumbing, Mount Slamet, and Mount Sindoro in Central Java Province; Mount Argopuro and Mount Sadran in East Java Province; Mount Ciremai in West Java Province; and Mount Lawu located in the border of the provinces of Central and East Java were among the mountains hit by wildfires.

In the meantime, the Terra and Aqua satellites detected 192 hotspots indicating forest fires on Sumatra Island on Monday (Aug 12, 2019), a significant spike, from 13 hotspots on Sunday afternoon.

Of the total 192 hotspots, 156 were found in Riau Province, nine in South Sumatra, eight in Jambi, seven in Lampung, four each in North Sumatra and Bangka Belitung, three in Riau Island, and one in West Sumatra, Sanya Gautami, analyst at the Pekanbaru meteorology station, Riau Province, remarked on Monday.

In Riau, the detected hotspots comprised 40 in Pelalawan, 29 in Siak, 21 in Rohan Hilir, 15 in Indragiri Hulu, seven each in Meranti Island and Bengkali, six in Kampar, and two each in Kuantan Singingi and Dumai.

Of the 192 hotspots, 116 were identified as fire spots, with 28 detected in Pelalawan, 22 in Siak, 19 in Indragiri Hilir, and 15 in Rohan Hilir.

Haze lowered visibility in Pekanbaru to 2.5 kilometers on Monday at 10 a.m. local time.

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Hotspots in Riau, parts of Kalimantan declined: BNPB
Antara 11 Aug 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The number of hotspots in the provinces of Riau, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan have declined on Sunday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

A spokesman of the BNPB Agus Wibowo said in a statement here on Sunday, the number of hotspots in Riau has declined to 29, from 126 detected on Saturday (Aug 10).

The agency has also detected a declining number of hotspots in South Kalimantan from 41 to 14, East Kalimantan from 23 to 20, and in North Kalimantan from 29 to 23.

However, in some other provinces, the number of hotspots has increased, such as in West Kalimantan where it increased 27 to 605 and in Central Kalimantan where it increased four to 163.

Jambi has recorded an increase in the number of hotspots to three, South Sumatra to 19, and Bangka Belitung increased 10 to 14.

BNPB said, haze has shrouded Sumatra and Kalimantan regions, though it was not descending over Malaysia and Singapore.

Pekanbaru was still blanketed by haze with visibility of five kilometers, while the visibility in Jambi (cloudy) is 9 km, Palembang (cloudy) 10 km, Pontianak (smoky) 5 km, Pangkalan Bun (cloudy) 9 km, Palangkaraya (smoky) 5 km, Sanggu-Buntok (smoky) 4 km, Banjarmasin (cloudy) 10 km, and Tanjung Harapan - Tanjung Selor (smoky) 5 km.

The air quality based on the concentration of particulate matter (PM10) showed unhealthy air quality in Pekanbaru with PM10 concentration 166, Pontianak with 253 PM10 or very unhealthy, Palangkaraya 217 (very unhealthy), and Sampit 26 (healthy)

On Sunday, 9,072 personnel of the joint task force that comprise of the BNPB, the military, police, regional mitigation agency (BPBD), and local residents have continued to put out the fire in six provinces namely Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.

Reporter: Martha Herlinawati S, Sri Hary
Editor: Suharto