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Govt grapples with fires as disruption worsens
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Malaysia’s skyline is seen shrouded in haze in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 10. Hundreds of schools across Southeast Asia have been shut as toxic smog from out-of-control forest fires blanket Malaysia and Indonesia, officials said.
(Agence France Presse/Mohd Rasfan)
D
isruptions caused by land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan continue to worsen as airlines have been forced to cancel flights, hundreds of thousands of people suffer from acute respiratory infections (ISPA) and the air quality reaches unhealthy levels in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
Dozens of flights to and from Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Supadio International Airport in Kubu Raya and Pangsuma Putussibau Airport in Kapuas Hulu, both in West Kalimantan, have been canceled, rerouted or delayed due to smog, Antara reported.
Meanwhile, air quality in Singapore has reached an unhealthy level for the first time since 2016, The Straits Times reported.
The Indonesian Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday that the unhealthy air quality caused by land and forest fires had led people in the affected provinces to suffer from ISPA, with Palembang in South Sumatra recording 106,550 patients, Jambi city in Jambi 61,147 patients, Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan 23,324 patients and Pekanbaru in Riau 9,512 patients.
The ministry said it had distributed more than a million face masks to the affected provinces alongside those provided by local administrations, many of which have suggested their residents avoid outdoor activities.
Sporting face masks, hundreds of Sampit residents in East Kotawaringin regency of Central Kalimantan performed istisqa (mass prayers) on Saturday to ask for rainfall, which they hoped could wash away the smog that has been blanketing the area for days and disrupting their activities.
Sampit is among those badly affected by the smog, with reports from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) showing that bad air quality continued to persist in the area, hitting an unhealthy level as of Saturday afternoon.
