T

he sunny weather and lack of rain in the past few days have caused hot spots to appear in Riau province, with looming threats of forest and land fires.

Data collected by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Pekanbaru from Terra and Aqua satellites detected 17 hot spots on Thursday. The hot spots spread to seven regencies, namely Indragiri Hilir, Pelalawan, Indrigiri Hulu, Bengkalis, Kampar, Kuantan Singingi and Siak.

“There was a jump in the number [of hot spots]. Riau was free from hot spots on Wednesday morning,” said Pekanbaru BMKG spokesman Slamet Riyadi on Thursday.

Five hot spots had a higher confidence level, reaching above 70 percent, meaning that they were likely fire spots, he explained.

The reappearance of hot spots marked the beginning of the dry season in Riau, which was predicted to last from the first week of February until March. The weather had started to show rising temperatures, which would affect hot spots.

“All stakeholders must be aware of the forest and land fire threats. All parties should follow up on the report by taking mitigation measures on the field as soon as possible,” he said.

Hot spots were also detected in other provinces in Sumatra, such as Bengkulu with 18 hot spots, West Sumatra with 18, South Sumatra with seven, Jambi with six, Bangka Belitung with three and Lampung and Riau Island with two each.