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Haze shrouds Medan as wildfires expand; no flight disruptions yet

Medan and its surrounding areas were shrouded by a haze that originated from fires in a number of plantations in North Sumatra and neighboring Riau on Monday

Apriadi Gunawan and Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post)
Medan/Pekanbaru
Tue, June 19, 2012

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Haze shrouds Medan as wildfires expand; no flight disruptions yet

M

edan and its surrounding areas were shrouded by a haze that originated from fires in a number of plantations in North Sumatra and neighboring Riau on Monday.

Based on satellite observations conducted by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), 163 plantation fires burned across the island, with dozens of them located in North Sumatra’s Batu regency.

Polina Airport’s BMKG data processing chief, Hartanto, said the number of brush fires would likely increase over the next few days due to the hot weather. He said the temperature in the city over the past few days continued to fluctuate between 34 and 36.9 degrees Celsius.

“The hot weather will continue until August, when the haze is projected to worsen due to the lack of rain,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The haze blanketed Medan and its surroundings on Sunday, but flights through Polina Airport proceeded as normal since visibility remained at around 5,000 meters.

“The haze that is currently covering Medan remains safe for flights,” Hartanto said, adding that haze is categorized hazardous when visibility drops below 1,000 meters.

Speaking on behalf of state airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura II, which manages Medan’s Polonia Airport, spokesman Firdaus said all flights at were currently running as scheduled.

“Flights are still safe because visibility remains normal as of now,” said Firdaus.

The smoke from forest fires seems to have become not only an untenable domestic problem, but has become an international concern with neighboring countries raising the issue.

Based on satellite images from the NOAA satellite on Sunday, the Pekanbaru BMKG recorded that of the 163 brush fires in Sumatra, 77 were found in Riau. In Aceh, 22 hot spots were detected, followed by South Sumatra (17), North Sumatra (14), West Sumatra (10), Jambi (six), Bengkulu (four), Riau Islands (two) and Lampung (one).

“Riau is home the highest number of fires — almost half of those in Sumatra — causing the entire area of Riau to be blanketed in a haze,” said Pekanbaru BMKG Forecast and Analysis group head Marzuki told the Post on Monday.

According to him, the number of forest fires in Riau has increased sharply over the past three days. On June 14, only nine fires were detected in Sumatra, seven of which were in Riau. The following day, the number had increased to 80 — 44 of which were in Riau.

“The number of hot spots in Sumatra, at one point, dropped drastically. We don’t know the exact reason, as it might have been due to fire fighting efforts or natural causes, but the chances for rain remain very limited over the next several days,” added Marzuki.

In Riau, 20 fires were reported in Pelalawan regency, followed by Indragiri Hulu (11), Rokan Hilir (nine), Bangkalis (seven), Indragiri Hilir (six), Kampar (six), Rokan Hulu (six), Kuantan Singingi (five), Dumai (four), and Siak (three). Pekanbaru and Meranti Islands regency were the only two areas without uncontrolled fires.

Riau Environment Office data showed that the number of fires in Riau has continued to rise from year to year. In 2010, 1,537 fires were recorded in Riau, doubling the following year to 3,471.

“As of the second week of June, the number of wildfires has reached 1,489, of which 210 were detected in plantation areas, 431 in industrial forests, 105 in forest concessions and 743 in other utilization areas [APL],” said office head Akmal J.S.

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