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Riau extends haze emergency status
(Antara/Aswaddy Hamid)Riau province has extended its air-pollution emergency status up to Nov
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(Antara/Aswaddy Hamid) (Antara/Aswaddy Hamid)
(Antara/Aswaddy Hamid)
Riau province has extended its air-pollution emergency status up to Nov. 1 a top official said on Tuesday.
Acting Riau governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman issued a decree on the status extension on Oct. 19.
"We extend the haze emergency status as the air quality in Riau is not stable yet and there is still haze from neighboring provinces," he said as reported by Antara news agency.
Riau and other parts of Sumatra have been covered with their worst haze in history over the past three months due to forest and land fires mostly caused by land clearing for plantation companies.
Rachman said that the decision to prolong the status had been made in consultation with related agencies like the Riau haze task force and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
He cited the BMKG's statement that air quality is still poor and that rainy season was predicted not to come until early November.
"We must increase health services so there will be no more people getting sick from the haze," he said.
Data from the Riau haze task force showed that air-pollution in Riau's capital of Pekanbaru was at a "dangerous" level.
Thick haze still covers Pekanbaru and continues to disrupt flights at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport.
Riau health office reports that there were 62,531 people affected by respiratory infections from Sept 29 to Oct. 18. (rin) (++++)
