The Malaysian government has formally offered assistance to Indonesia\nto handle the forest and land fire (karhutla) crisis that is triggering\ncross-border haze. The offer includes weather modification operations or\ncloud seeding to induce rain in affected areas.<\/p>\n
Malaysia\u2019s Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental\nSustainability, Arthur Joseph Kurup, conveyed the offer after holding\ntalks by telephone with Indonesia\u2019s Minister of Environment and\nForestry, Jumhur Hidayat, on Monday (24\/8). The main focus of the two\nministers\u2019 discussion was accelerating the extinguishing of fire\nhotspots and mitigating the impact of smoke that is beginning to spread\nto neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n
Arthur stressed that Malaysia is ready to deploy resources to assist\nwith the firefighting process. However, the realisation of the\nassistance will be adjusted according to an official request from the\nIndonesian government. The cloud seeding operation offered aims to\nincrease rainfall intensity to reduce smoke concentration and extinguish\nfires in areas that are difficult to reach by land routes.<\/p>\n
Currently, thousands of hotspots have been detected in several\nregions of Indonesia, particularly on the islands of Sumatra and\nKalimantan. Wind direction is carrying some of the fire smoke into\nMalaysian territory, with Sarawak being the most significantly affected\narea because it directly borders three provinces in Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Intensive coordination between the two countries regarding the timing\nof the weather modification operation needs to be carried out. This step\nis expected to strengthen regional cooperation in addressing an annual\nenvironmental issue that impacts public health in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Haze from forest and land fires caused visibility at Sultan Thaha\nAirport in Jambi to drop to 800 metres. Two flights from Jakarta were\nforced to be diverted to Batam and Palembang.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian government appreciates Indonesia\u2019s swift action in\nhandling forest and land fires.<\/p>\n
Two aircraft on the Jakarta-Jambi route failed to land at Sultan\nThaha Sayefuddin Airport in Jambi City on Tuesday afternoon (25\/8) after\ncircling in the air due to thick haze.<\/p>\n
The Pekanbaru city government has extended distance learning for all\nearly childhood, primary and lower secondary schools due to the forest\nand land fire haze.<\/p>\n
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) revealed\nthat the cause of the forest fire haze reaching neighbouring countries\nis influenced by wind movement.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is urging ASEAN to strengthen prevention of transboundary\nhaze after 11 areas recorded unhealthy air quality, with the Air\nPollutant Index in Serian reaching 190.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-offers-weather-modification-assistance-to-tackle-forest-fires-in-indonesia-1787737862", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }