T

hickening haze from forest, bush and land fires in Central and West Kalimantan prompted four affected airports to close for several hours Tuesday, officials and environmentalists said.

The smoke also forced the mayor of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Riban Setya, to send students from elementary and senior high schools home to prevent them suffering health problems.

The haze covered Palangkaraya, disrupting flights to and from Tjilik Riwut Airport, Central Kalimantan's largest, and it was forced to close temporarily, as were two other airports in East Kalimantan - Sepinggan Airport in Balikpapan and Juwata Airport in Tarakan.

Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, was similarly disrupted, prompting it to close for half an hour on Tuesday morning, Antara state news agency reported. Pontianak is a regular destination for domestic airlines including Batavia Air, Sriwijaya Air and the national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia.

Haze has been covering areas in Kubu Raya, Pontianak, North Kayong and Ketapang, since the start of the dry season in July, causing the frequent closure of the airport.

The local weather agency was quoted as saying Tuesday's haze came from 20 hot spots in West Kalimantan, 10 of which were in Ketapang regency.

In Palangkaraya the haze became worse Tuesday, disturbing motorists in the city center and forcing many residents to stay at home. Local officials said the haze had been covering the city for a week but Tuesday's smoke was worse, reducing visibility to only 5-10 meters. Environmentalists and officials said the haze in Palangkaraya was due to fires started to clear land to use as farmland.

Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) activists have set up a disaster assistance post in Palangkaraya and are distributing masks and eye medicines to local residents.

Central Kalimantan's Walhi director Ari Rompas told The Jakarta Post from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, the thick haze caused eye irritation for motorists and passers-by. "Motorists had to switch on their lights and drive slowly to prevent accidents," he added.

Ari said peatland and bush fires across Central Kalimantan were spreading due to the prolonged dry season, sending haze into neighboring provinces. Walhi recorded hundreds of hot spots across the province, including those on land belonging to 60 plantation companies. However, most of the fires were detected in peatland areas, such as those in the regencies of East and West Kota Waringin, Kapuas, Pulang Pisau, Seruyan, Lamandau and Palangkaraya.