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thletes arriving in Pekanbaru, Riau, from provinces across Indonesia for the upcoming 18th National Games (PON), which will officially begin next Tuesday, expressed their fears on Wednesday about the effect of thick haze blanketing the Games’ venues.

Chairman of the East Kalimantan athletic contingent, Ridwan, said he became worried when the plane he was on landed at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru. “When the plane entered Riau territory, the haze was very thick. I hope such conditions will not disrupt the arrival schedules of other contingents,” he said.

Ridwan hoped the haze would be cleared as soon as possible so, as not to affect the stamina of the athletes who were unused to this phenomenon.

Harry, head of the Maluku contingent, said it was the first time he had seen the thick haze over Riau, an annual spectacle that has been reported by media for years. “We were worried when we saw the haze. Fortunately, after several days of being in Pekanbaru, we are getting used to it,” Harry said.

Head of the West Java contingent management division, Djuharman F, said there was no other choice but to adapt to the extreme weather conditions in Riau. “We can only urge the athletes to adapt to it as soon as possible,” he said.

Besides the haze, it is feared that the high temperatures will also affect the atheles’ performances. One of the basketball players from the Central Java contingent, Rally Pratama, admitted he was having difficulties in the training sessions in Pekanbaru.

“Pekanbaru is the hottest city in Indonesia I’ve ever visited. The weather conditions are worrying, especially in indoor venues. They are causing us a great deal of fatigue,” said the profession basketball player from the Satria Muda Jakarta club.

The thick haze that has descended over the city of Pekanbaru during the last few days has reduced the air quality. According to the Air Pollution Standard Index, levels reached 82 and 80 on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, bordering the category of unhealthy.

Riau Governor HM Rusli Zainal, who is also the chairman of PON XVIII, admitted he was also worried about the dense haze. The Riau branch of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the Riau Forestry Office reported that the thick haze in Riau was blown in from Jambi and South Sumatra provinces. The latest data shows there are 202 forest hotspots across the island of Sumatra, of which 102 are in South Sumatra.

In Riau alone, 19 hotspots were detected on Tuesday, two of which were in Pelalawan regency, eight in Indragiri Hulu, six in Indragiri Hilir and three in Kuantan Sengingi. The number of hotspots overall, however, had dropped sharply from 44 on Sunday and 22 on Monday.

“The BNPB has deployed a Casa 212 airplane and two helicopters to drop cloud seedings in a bid to help extinguish forest and bush fires in Riau,” Rusli said.

Meanwhile, in order to help reduce impact of the haze on the National Games, the Riau Health Office has prepared 50,000 masks to be distributed to 10 regencies and cities where different events for the Games will be held.