T

he severe and prolonged haze from fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan has reached the capital city with thin smoke covering the sky above Jakarta, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reported.

BPNP spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a press release on Sunday that the haze originating from fires in peat land and plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan had been spreading widely.

'€œAccording to monitoring by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency'€™s [BMKG] Himawari satellite on Sunday morning, the haze has covered three-quarters of Indonesia,'€ he said.

Sutopo said the thin haze had actually been covering Jakarta skies since Friday. '€œSoft particles of haze floated around at the height of 1,000 to 3,000 meters,'€ he said.

He added that the haze looked thicker in the morning because it was mixed with fog and water vapor.

'€œHowever, residents do not need to worry about the thin haze because it is temporary, and [its presence in Jakarta] depends on the direction and the speed of wind, which changes rapidly,'€ he said.

Sutopo emphasized that air quality in Jakarta is still normal. '€œThe pollution from motorized vehicles is actually more dangerous for residents'€™ health,'€ he said.

Muhammad Tahir, a 45-year-old fisherman in Kalibaru, North Jakarta, said that he felt that the weather out on the ocean had been changing in the last few days. '€œThe fog in the morning is thicker and visibility is lower at night,'€ he said.

Tahir said he thought that it was because of haze from Riau. '€œHowever, none of my colleagues complain about it as we usually look for fish not far from the land, only two to three miles from the shore,'€ he said.

Tahir said, however, that he was afraid that the conditions could get worse. '€œWe are already afraid to sail at night, as many of us have been hit by ships,'€ he said.

He added that it was because visibility was low, while traditional fishermen only used torches to signal big ships. '€œThey usually cannot see us. It will get worse if we are covered with haze like our fishermen friends in Riau who have stopped sailing,'€ he said.

Tahir said he hoped the central government could take immediate steps to stop the fires, so casualties could be minimized.

Suryanto, a 33-year-old participant in the Mandiri Jakarta Marathon on Sunday, said he did not realize that the haze from Kalimantan and Sumatra could travel to Jakarta.

'€œI thought it was only cloudy. I did not know it could reach this city,'€ he said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Suryanto, who brought his child to the competition, said that he did not feel out of the ordinary while he was running.

According to Sutopo of the BNPB, visibility in particular places such as Padang in West Sumatra, Palembang in South Sumatra and Ketapang in West Kalimantan is only 200 meters.

He said that haze from hot spots was still high. The Terra and Aqua satellites recorded that there were still 1,187 hot spots in Indonesia on Sunday morning.

'€œIt has been almost two months now that residents in Riau, Jambi and Palangkaraya have been trapped in hazardous haze,'€ he said.

The central government is now preparing to evacuate residents in the worst hit provinces including Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan.