Haze from Riau forest fires may drift to Malaysia, Singapore
Haze from Riau forest fires may drift to Malaysia, Singapore
14 July 2009
published by www.antara.co.id
Indonesia —
Haze produced by forest and plantation fires in Riau province has the potential of drifting to neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.
Head of the BMKG Observation section here Johanes Sudrajat said on Tuesday Riau province was covered by haze from 140 hot spots indicating forest and plantation fires in 11 districts and towns.
Meanwhile, winds with speeds of five to 12 knots from the Southeast to Southwest pushed the haze toward the Northeast, approaching Singapore and Malaysia.
“Therefore the two neighboring countries are likely to receive the haze from Riau and other provinces in Sumatra island which also have a haze problem,” the agency said.
In the meantime, in accordance with data collected by the BMKG here from the NOAA satellites, the number of hot spots as indicators of land and forest fires in Riau Province reached 140.
The number represented a sharp increase compared with those monitored a day earlier which only showed 40 hot spots across the province.
The hot spots were spread in several districts snf towns among others in Bengkalis district, Dumai city and Rokan Hilir, Rokan Hulu, and Siak districts, the cities of Pekanbaru and Kampar.
Hot spots were also found in Pelalawan district, the ditricts of Indragiri Hulu (Inhu) and Indragiri Hilir (Inhil).
Previously, it was reported haze coming from forest and plantation fires had gotten so bad in Dumai city on Saturday that local authorities declareed a status of alert against air pollution.
