The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has detected 1,487\nhotspots that could potentially develop into forest and land fires\n(karhutla) spread across most of Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication\nCentre, Berton SP Panjaitan, said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday\nthat, based on NOAA-20 satellite monitoring up to Thursday (20\/8), the\nhighest concentration of hotspots was in Central Kalimantan with 767\npoints and West Kalimantan with 560 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, in South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, 74 points were\ndetected respectively, and North Kalimantan had three points,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to him, the distribution of hotspots is a serious concern\nfor the government to prevent them from spreading into forest and land\nfires.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo anticipate the impacts from spreading, BNPB together with\nregional governments continues to strengthen preparedness, monitoring\nand early detection of potential forest and land fires and ensure the\navailability of firefighting infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
BNPB is also urging the public to collectively increase vigilance and\npromote awareness campaigns against land burning activities during this\nyear\u2019s dry season, which is drier due to the active El Ni\u00f1o\nphenomenon.<\/p>\n
Although simple, the campaign is considered important for tackling\nthe dangers of forest and land fires, including respiratory problems\nfrom exposure to smoke pollution, disruption to economic activity and\nmassive ecosystem damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf members of the public know of or see a fire incident, immediately\nreport it to the local authorities so that handling can be carried out\nquickly and effectively,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n
In Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, for example, air quality in the\nregency has deteriorated over the past 24 hours to extreme or very\nunhealthy levels due to high concentrations of fine particulate matter\nPM2.5.<\/p>\n
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported\nthat PM2.5 concentrations in Banjarbaru reached 389.4 micrograms per\ncubic metre at 07.00 Wita and fell into the hazardous category, far\nexceeding the threshold of 250.5 micrograms per cubic metre for that\ncategory.<\/p>\n
In Central Kalimantan, smoke haze from forest and land fires has\ncancelled flights to and from Haji Muhammad Sidik Muara Teweh Airport in\nNorth Barito Regency over the past two days.<\/p>\n
Flights at Singkawang Airport in West Kalimantan were also\ntemporarily halted entirely on Friday due to increasingly thick smoke\nhaze, which caused visibility to fall below the safe operational\nthreshold for aviation.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bnpb-detects-1-487-hotspots-with-forest-fire-potential-across-kalimantan-1787291549", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }