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Govt goes all in to extinguish wildfires
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Fire burns a plot of land on Aug. 31, 2023, in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. The Palangkaraya Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) recorded 202 wildfires between January and August of 2023, which burned a total of 153 hectares of land. (Antara/Auliya Rahman)
W
ith nearly half of the country’s territory at “high risk of wildfires”, the government on Tuesday said that 2,267 hectares of land was reportedly engulfed in fire, and that the rest of October will see the dry spell persist.
Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra and Jambi provinces are among the most vulnerable areas, officials said following a cabinet meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo about the fires.
Meanwhile, more schools have been closed this week, as the air quality continues to deteriorate to hazardous levels and respiratory infection cases surge.
On Tuesday, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) updated its map showing the locations currently experiencing abnormal dryness or drought. The map flagged large chunks of South Kalimantan, South Sumatra and nearly all of Java as "extremely dry" and prone to wildfires if not properly handled, amid prolonged and drier dry seasons triggered by the El Niño climate phenomenon.
“According to our predictions, the peak of El Niño that started in September has yet to subside,” BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati told reporters. “[During this time], wildfires could occur even without human intervention, and extinguishing efforts would be difficult.”
Several ministries and government agencies on Tuesday convened at the Presidential Palace to discuss mitigation measures, later disclosing that, as of Monday, 6,659 hotpots around the country have an 80 percent chance of wildfire.
Read also: Forest fires continue wreaking havoc on public life, health
