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Forest and bush fires expected to end in October: Agency
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An aerial picture shows land fires in Batu Panjang, Rupat district, Bengkalis regency, Riau. The burned areas are owned by local people, with borders to concession areas belonging to plantation companies. (Courtesy of the Riau Land and Forest Fire Post’s air task force/-)
T
he National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) estimated on Monday that the bush and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan would end in October, a time slated to have high intensity rains.
“Rainfall intensity this year is high compared to last year. And in October, most areas of the country will see a rainy season,” agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said at a press conference.
Sutopo warned that the threat of forest fires and land burning would still occur in September, mostly in Riau and provinces in the northern part of the equator, such as West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency predicted that October rainfall in most areas of Indonesia would be of high intensity, with downpours estimated to measure as much as 500 millimeters per day.
Meanwhile, BNPB reported findings of 138 hot spots around the country on Monday. Eighty-five of them were found in Riau, producing enough haze to blow to Singapore. However, Sutopo claimed the haze that crossed borders was not thick, and not dangerous to Singaporeans.
As of Monday, there have been 12,884 hot spots detected, while 2015 experienced 32,734 hot spots. Six provinces, comprising Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, have declared a haze emergency. The government had operated 17 water bombing aircraft and planes for artificial rain. (wnd/bbn)
