Haze covers Pekanbaru as rainy season nears end<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Haze blanketed the Riau provincial capital of Pekanbaru over
\nthe last few days, sending an early warning of last year's haze
\nproblem that nearly paralyzed the city and other parts of the
\nprovince during the dry season.<\/p>\n
It had stopped raining over the city in the past two weeks,
\nAntara reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Officials have said the smoke had likely come from land
\nclearance activities, as farmers or forest squatters took
\nadvantage of the rainless days.<\/p>\n
As smoke engulfed the city, locals began complaining about
\nlimited visibility, respiratory and eye problems.<\/p>\n
\"Smoke has started to become really annoying over the last two
\ndays. Even at night, when I go out the smoke is quite thick and
\nburns my eyes,\" said Jamris, a Pekanbaru local as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
Motorcyclists and drivers of public buses voiced similar
\ncomplaints.<\/p>\n
\"We arrive in Pekanbaru at dawn and we feel the smoke is quite
\nthick. During the trip visibility was limited,\" said M. Rusdi who
\ndrives between Pekanbaru and Medan.<\/p>\n
Head of the Riau conservation office, Jhon Kennedie said the
\nrainy season was nearing its end which explained the reduced
\nrainfall.<\/p>\n
Farmers and forest squatters have probably begun to burn bush
\nland again to clear the land for their crops, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We'll soon start our bush fire drills,\" said Jhon adding that
\nthis exercise was being held in anticipation that the fire would
\nspread.<\/p>\n
Last year, haze reached alarming levels, affecting locals'
\nhealth as well as flight schedules to and from Pekanbaru.<\/p>\n
In West Kalimantan's capital city, Pontianak, haze has also
\nreturned, as temperatures in the city rose to 35 degrees Celsius,
\nthe highest this year, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Head of the technical unit at the local meteorology and
\ngeophysics office, Maroni said the city's temperature should
\nremain at 30 degrees to 31 degrees Celsius at this time of the
\nyear.<\/p>\n
But over the past few days, it has climbed to around 34
\ndegrees Celsius after two weeks without rain.<\/p>\n
Maroni warned that temperatures would continue to rise unless
\nit rained, which would also reduce the haze problem.<\/p>\n
Locals are complaining of headaches and eye irritation when
\nthey go out in the heat and the haze. Maroni suggested that
\nmotorcyclists use masks.<\/p>\n
Smoke is considered harmful to human health if it reaches 300
\non the Standard Air Pollution Index (ISPU). Pontianak recorded an
\nISPU of 600 in August last year.<\/p>\n
Singapore and Malaysia have also logged complaints about the
\nannual smoke problem coming from bush and forest fires in Sumatra
\nand West Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Officials have blamed farmers and forest squatters behind the
\nuncontrolled land clearance activities, which appeared to have
\ncontinued despite promises made to stop them.<\/p>\n
Local governments also threatened to revoke the permits of
\nplantation and logging companies if they continued to use cheap
\nyet damaging land clearance methods.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/haze-covers-pekanbaru-as-rainy-season-nears-end-1447893297",
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