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Air quality in West Sumatra again hits 'dangerous' level
Air quality reached officially dangerous levels on Sunday in many parts of West Sumatra as a result of worsening haze as the provinceâs international cycling race Tour de Singkarak (TdS) reached its second day
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ir quality reached officially dangerous levels on Sunday in many parts of West Sumatra as a result of worsening haze as the province's international cycling race Tour de Singkarak (TdS) reached its second day.
The 'dangerous' level was hit in the central and eastern parts of the province, as the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station in Bukit Kotoabang, Agem regency, recorded the particulate matter (PM10) at 488 per cubic meter (µg/m³) at 11 a.m., though the level decreased to 'unhealthy' with a PM10 of 337 µg/m³ at 2 p.m.
According to the government's existing guidelines, air quality is considered 'healthy' if its PM10 level stands below 50 µg/m³, 'moderate' when the level stands between 50 and 150 µg/m³, 'unhealthy' between 150 and 350 µg/m³, 'very unhealthy' between 350 and 420 µg/m³ and 'dangerous' when it surpasses 420 µg/m³.
Last week, GAW station reported PM10 was measured at 436 micrograms µg/m³, the highest level recorded this year.
Station head Edison Kurniawan predicted that smoke from land and forest fires would continue to blankest West Sumatra for the next two days.
'[Haze] will continue since there are still hot spots in South Sumatra and Jambi and West Sumatra is still dry, so the air tends to be unhealthy,' Edison said on Sunday.
He had, he said, advised the TdS organizing committee that from the first stage of the race, beginning at Carocok Beach in Pesisir Selatan regency, until the fifth stage ending at Payakumbuh, the air quality would reach the 'unhealthy' level, while from the sixth stage until the end of the ninth stage at Gandoriah Beach in Padang Pariaman regency, the level would be either 'moderate' or 'healthy'.
'We have made our analysis and, so far, it's turned out to be correct. Of course, the committee has the right to decide whether the race continues,' Edison told The Jakarta Post.
In Padang, the capital of the province, the haze was lighter than the previous day, while in Solok city and Solok regency, where dozens of international cyclists reached the finish line of stage 2, the smog was very thick, with visibility below 500 meters and an acrid stench of burnt wood. The race stretches a total 163.2 kilometers.
Most people in the regency went about their business without wearing a protective mask, though some covered their noses with their shirts or scarves.
Efendy, a local resident who went to watch the cycling race at Sumani, near Lake Singkarak, said the thick smog had blanketed the regency for a month.
'The government still hasn't distributed masks. Many school kids don't have masks either, since if you want to buy one, you have to go to Solok city,' the 49-year-old said on Sunday.
Thick smog has similarly been blanketing Tabalong regency in South Kalimantan, especially in the western parts of the regency close to forest and plantation areas.
'Forest fires in protected forest in Gunung Batu Kumpai, Jaro district, have been burning for four days, destroying hundreds of hectares of the forests,' Tabalong Production Forest Management head Yandi Sa'ban was quoted as saying by Antara news agency on Sunday.
