Haze thick over Kalimantan<\/p>\n
Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda<\/p>\n
Thick haze from forest fires in Central and East Kalimantan
\nprovinces continued to blanket some cities in Kalimantan on
\nMonday, but heavy downpours over the weekend helped ease the
\nfog in some cities in Sumatra.<\/p>\n
In Samarinda, East Kalmantan, visibility has been reduced to
\none kilometer because of the haze.<\/p>\n
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA)
\nsatellite found 17 fires in East Kalimantan, 225 hot spots
\nin Central Kalimantan and 133 in South Kalimantan on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Yusman, the head of Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) at
\nTermindung Airport in Samarinda predicted the thick haze in the
\nprovince would last until the end of October, when the wind's
\ndirection in Central and South Kalimantan is expected to change.<\/p>\n
Residents, particularly motorists, of Samarinda and Balikpapan
\nhave had started using masks in a bid to prevent respiratory and
\neye problems.<\/p>\n
"I must keep my motorbike's lights on to avoid a possible
\naccident and I've had to stop several times to wash my face. It
\nhurts my eyes and the smell is bad," said Nurdiansyah, a
\nmotorist.<\/p>\n
However, the Samarinda administration said it could not
\nprovide free masks for residents despite the growing number of
\npatients with respiratory ailments due to the haze.<\/p>\n
The number of patients with respiratory illnesses reached more
\nthan 700 this month, from last month's 400.<\/p>\n
However, Dr. Djatmiko Wahyono of the city's health agency said
\nthe condition remained under control.<\/p>\n
"Free masks are only given to residents for free during
\nextraordinary conditions," he said. The authority would announce
\nextraordinary conditions existed if the number of patients with
\nrespiratory problems reached double that of the previous month,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Djatmiko called for people to buy their own masks to prevent
\npossible respiratory ailments.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the North Barito authority in Central Kalimantan
\ndistributed thousands of masks to Muara Teweh residents free of
\ncharge.<\/p>\n
Environmental agency head Dr. Wiwiek Jarwiati said the agency
\nalso provided free training for residents to deal with ailments
\ncaused by haze.<\/p>\n
Separately in Palembang, authorities announced heavy rains
\naround most parts of South Sumatra had put out as many as 414 hot
\nspots in the province, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Local BMG head Suyatim said the rain meant people did not need
\nto worry about the possibility of increasing levels of haze over
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
Thick haze had blanketed the province for the past three days.<\/p>\n
The local health agency had provided about 50,000 masks to be
\ndistributed to local residents, particularly children.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/haze-thick-over-kalimantan-1447893297",
"image": ""
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