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Hotspots on the rise in Sumatra
Hard work: A worker from the Pelalawan Regency Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) tries to extinguish a peatland fire inside an oil palm plantation in Rantau Baru in Pelalawan, Riau, on Saturday
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span class="inline inline-center">Hard work: A worker from the Pelalawan Regency Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) tries to extinguish a peatland fire inside an oil palm plantation in Rantau Baru in Pelalawan, Riau, on Saturday. Fires in Rantau Baru mostly occurred in small oil palm estates lacking good water management, leaving the peatland dry and prone to fires.(Antara/FB Anggoro)
The forest fires in Sumatra are worsening according to NASA satellite data that shows 693 hotspots on the island, up from 156 just a day ago.
According to Pakanbaru's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head Sugarin, 613 of the hotspots are in South Sumatra, 37 in Lampung, 32 in Jambi, nine in Bangka Belitung and one each in Riau and Riau Islands.
According to Sugarin, the data they are relying on has a certainty of more 70 percent.
The BMKG have forecast potential light to medium rain with thunder and strong winds for several area in Riau, including in Pekanbaru, Pelalawan, Rokan Hillir, Dumai, Kampar, Rokan Hulu, Bengkalis, Kuantan Singingi and Indragiri Hulu.
A thin haze still covers the area, causing reduced visibility of 1,000 meters in Pekanbaru, 200m in Rengat, 500m in Pelalawan and 3,000m in Dumai. (edn/bbn)(++++)
