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Haze Disaster
On fire: Peatland around the Siak River in Pelalawan, Riau is razed by fire, as seen from a National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) helicopter on Sept
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span class="inline inline-center">On fire: Peatland around the Siak River in Pelalawan, Riau is razed by fire, as seen from a National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) helicopter on Sept. 13.
The annual forest fires persist and are on track to becoming the worst on record.
The haze crisis has forced thousands to seek medical attention, school closures and disrupted flights. The smoke billowing from the fires has also affected neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore.
Scientists have warned that this year's forest fires could surpass levels in 1997, when the fires resulted in pollution soaring to record highs, costing an estimated US$9 billion.
Personally affected by the fires, housewife Marayam explained how this year's disaster compared to previous years.
'This year's forest fires are much more severe, to the extent that our pineapple plantation was razed by fires. Last year there was only smog,' said the 61-year-old resident of Rimbo Panjang in Kampar district, Riau, while trying to put out a fire on her farm.
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has called on relevant government agencies to intensify efforts to extinguish the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan that have affected transportation and the health of people in those regions.
However, he said that the huge fires were not a problem that could be solved quickly, saying that it would take around three years for results to be seen from efforts to end the annual disaster.
To make things worse, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that the El Niño weather phenomenon will reach its peak in October, while the prolonged drought has caused harvest failures in several rice-producing regions.
The blanketing smoke is set to remain until November, due in part to the dry spell caused by the El Niño effect, said to be among the strongest since records were kept in 1950.
With the disaster plaguing the country year after year, it's about time that a real solution is found to put end to the disaster for good.
' Text and photos by Sutanta Aditya
