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557 hot spots detected in Sumatra Tuesday morning
A student goes home after she finds that her school on Jl
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A student goes home after she finds that her school on Jl. Adinegoro, Padang, West Sumatra, was closed on Oct. 23 due to haze. Thick smoke still blankets Padang. (Antara/Iggoy el Fitra) (Antara/Iggoy el Fitra)
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span class="inline inline-center">A student goes home after she finds that her school on Jl. Adinegoro, Padang, West Sumatra, was closed on Oct. 23 due to haze. Thick smoke still blankets Padang. (Antara/Iggoy el Fitra)
Five hundred fifty-seven hot spots were detected in Sumatra, according to Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) data from the Terra and Aqua satellite at 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
'As many as 415 spots are in South Sumatra, followed by Jambi (125), Riau (8), Riau Islands (5) and Lampung (4),' the station's meteorology section head, Budi Satria, said as quoted by Antara in Padang on Tuesday.
He said the scope of the hot spots had worsened the air quality in several areas in West Sumatra, especially Agam, Bukittinggi and their surrounding areas.
According to the BMKG, the wind flowing from south to southeast has made West Sumatra one of the areas most affected.
'Based on its average level of particulate matter [PM10] monitoring data, as of 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the province's Air Pollution Standard Index [ISPU] has stood at 303ug/m3 and this is already unhealthy,' said Budi.
The BMKG data show the potential for rainfall in Mentawai Islands and coastal areas on Tuesday evening.
It also forecasts rainfall in half of the areas in Sumatra on Wednesday.
'In the southern areas, rainfall is predicted to occur unevenly; thus, chances for hot spots to appear again remain high. This is why West Sumatra is predicted to still face the impact of haze,' said Budi.
Separately, BMKG spokesperson Eko Suryanto said in Jakarta on Monday that the haze would still affect Jakarta until Wednesday or Thursday.
He said smoke resulting from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan had reached several areas in Java, although it was still on high up in the air, not near the earth's surface.
'This is monitored from Himawari-8 satellite imagery analysis, which shows that Jakarta was covered with thin smoke over the last 2-3 days, but it is 3-5 kilometers above the surface,' said Eko.
'The thin smoke is from Kalimantan, as the wind flows from north to Java.'
'In the next 2-3 days, the BMKG predicts that Jakarta will still be dealing with haze,' he said. (edn/ebf)(+)
