Spreading haze plagues traffic, health<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Medan<\/p>\n
The choking haze from forest fires on Sumatra island has spread
\nto more areas on Sunday, including Medan and Pontianak,
\nthreatening public health and disrupting transportation.<\/p>\n
In Medan, the haze blanketing the city brought visibility down
\nto less than 1,500 meters, far from the safety level for
\nairplanes of 5,000 meters, thus increasing the risk of accidents.<\/p>\n
Haze also disrupted public activities, as residents complained
\nof eye irritation and stayed indoors for the most part.<\/p>\n
The head of the Medan Meteorology and Geophysics Agency,
\nFirman, said strong winds had blown the haze from forest fires in
\nthe neighboring province of Riau.<\/p>\n
"Last week, the winds blew beyond 30 knots per hour in an
\neasterly direction, which is why Malaysia was affected. Today,
\nthe winds from Riau have come more in a northerly direction
\npushing the smoke toward Medan," Firman told The Jakarta Post at
\nhis office.<\/p>\n
He added that the smoke on Sunday was at an alarming level,
\nbecause aside from public health, it also disrupted air
\ntransportation, which requires visibility of around 5,000 meters
\nto 8,000 meters.<\/p>\n
"This morning, I received a report that vertical visibility
\nfrom the air to the runway was only around 300 meters. That is
\ndangerous," he explained.<\/p>\n
However, Polonia airport chief Col. Adi Supranto said there
\nhad been no delays in the flight schedules, with a total of 150
\narriving and departing flights.<\/p>\n
Several airplanes, however, had their lights on when taking
\noff.<\/p>\n
On the street, people complained about the choking haze.<\/p>\n
"My eyes are very sore and I can't breathe very well," said
\nRosmawati, who was riding a motorcycle on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
Firman suggested that people stay indoors for safety reasons.
\nBreathing too much of the smoke can be dangerous due to the
\ncarbon monoxide content.<\/p>\n
"But don't worry too much because the haze won't last long.
\nThere will be rains in the upcoming months, although not evenly,"
\nhe reassured people.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Antara reported that the thick haze had blanketed
\nPontianak since Saturday morning, prompting many people to wear
\nmasks or scarves over their faces.<\/p>\n
Many others, however, were not taking any precautionary
\nmeasures, saying that they had gotten used to the annual
\noccurrence.<\/p>\n
The West Kalimantan Environmental Impact Control Agency,
\nmeanwhile, asked residents to wear masks. The agency has forecast
\nthat there would be only 15 days of rain this month in the
\nprovince, and that would not be sufficient in clearing the air
\nand dowsing all the hot spots.<\/p>\n
Forest fires has become an annual occurrence in the past few
\nyears as farmers, plantation owners and miners have developed a
\nhabit of burning large swathes of forest to clear land.<\/p>\n
This year, the areas hardest hit by such fires were reportedly
\nlocated in the Padang Lawas forest near Lake Toba in North
\nSumatra. In Riau, hot spots have mostly been detected in and
\naround the Rokan Hulu region.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Rokan Hilir regency in Riau, forest fires in the
\npast 10 days have spread and are currently burning areas of scrub
\nbrush, dangerously close to oil wells and pipes, which one
\nofficial warned could explode.<\/p>\n
The head of Bagan Siapi-api Forestry Agency Indra Putramayana
\nsaid that the flames were getting bigger along the roads leading
\nto North Sumatra near the oil field managed and operated by PT
\nCaltex Pacific Indonesia.<\/p>\n
So far, the total number of hotspots in Rokan Hilir was
\nreported to be 267, increasing from a total of 200 hot spots on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
"We have discovered a fire at an oil well. But it's difficult
\nto extinguish it completely with the combination of a huge blaze,
\nhard wind and dry land, as well as limited equipment and human
\nresources," Indra said, while adding that a team of around 100
\nfiremen from local, provincial and neighboring regencies had been
\nworking to extinguish the fire, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the government step up efforts create
\nartificial rain, and also urged the government and Caltex to
\nassist the firefighters in putting out the fires.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spreading-haze-plagues-traffic-health-1447893297",
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