Workers struggle to fight forest fires<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta\/Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Government workers struggled on Thursday to contain fires in
\ncentral Sumatra that have shrouded large parts of neighboring
\nMalaysia in thick white haze.<\/p>\n
Forest fires and blazes set by local farmers were burning out
\nof control in four provinces, said Firman, an official with the
\nMeteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), identifying more than
\n150 hotspots.<\/p>\n
The sky was dark in parts of central Sumatra, but strong winds
\nhave for the last three days carried much of the smoke across the
\nMalacca Straits and into Malaysia, he told AP.<\/p>\n
\"We are very sorry about this,\" said Firman, who goes by only
\none name.<\/p>\n
Workers have been focusing most of their attention on the
\nhardest hit province Riau, said Firman. The other blazes were in
\nthe provinces of North Sumatra, Jambi and Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Forests have been razed in several districts of Kalimantan,
\nsaid Zainul Arifin, a local Ministry of Forestry official. He
\nsaid many of the fires were lit by farmers to clear land.<\/p>\n
Forest fires often break out in the region during dry spells
\nbecause of illegal land-clearing fires or carelessly discarded
\ncigarettes.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia and Indonesia
\nexperienced theirs worst air quality levels in 1997, when brush
\nfires in Indonesia destroyed some 10 million hectares of
\nvegetation, cloaking much of Southeast Asia with haze.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Malaysians were advised on Thursday to stay indoors
\nwhile hospitals are on the alert for health problems after air
\nquality was declared unhealthy as a haze cloaked Malaysia's
\ncapital and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
\"Try to stay indoors as much as you can,\" Health Department
\ndirector-general Ismail Merican told the Bernama news agency.<\/p>\n
All government hospitals and clinics have been directed to be
\non the alert for an increase in respiratory problems, coughs,
\nsore throats and eye irritations, The New Straits Times reported.<\/p>\n
Kuala Lumpur and four surrounding areas including the
\nadministrative center Putrajaya were declared unhealthy
\nWednesday, as well as regions in the neighboring southern states
\nof Negeri Sembilan and Malacca.<\/p>\n
Strenuous activity outside would be unhealthy for most people,
\nespecially for those with respiratory problems like asthma and
\nallergies, authorities said.<\/p>\n
However, the Department of Environment said the hazy
\nconditions had partially eased on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The situation has improved. The air quality has improved, all
\nof our stations around the country are recording 'good' or
\nmoderate' air quality,\" its deputy-director general Lee Heng Keng
\ntold AFP.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/workers-struggle-to-fight-forest-fires-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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