Forest fires continue as drought extends
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Haze resulting from bush and forest fires continues to prevail in Riau and Central Kalimantan, as the effects of prolonged drought hit farmers in other parts of the country.
People in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru woke to thick fog on Monday for the seventh straight day. The clouds prevailed till the afternoon but flights were not affected.
On the streets no residents were seen wearing masks despite warnings from health officials that the haze could cause breathing problems.
Satellite observation showed that the number of hot spots had sharply decreased from 303 on July 9 to only about 30 over the weekend, but the presence of the haze indicated that forest fires, which normally occur during the dry season, had not disappeared.
In Central Kalimantan, bush fires went on as local farmers prepared their lands for the upcoming planting season.
The fires were also spotted on Trans Kalimantan highway, particularly along the southern route connecting Palangkaraya and Sampit.
The wind moved thick smoke to the provincial capital of Palangkaraya. Heavy rain which fell later in the day saved people in the town from darkness. The air pollution detector displayed a tolerable degree of contamination resulting from the smoke.
Provincial forestry office head Tuah Pahoe told Antara that an observation satellite discovered more than 100 hotspots on Friday, up from only one the previous day.
The much-awaited rain also fell in the West Java town of Cirebon and its neighboring towns on Sunday, but it was not enough to make amends for the drained wells and rivers. Local agriculture office data showed that nearly 8,500 hectares of rice fields face harvest failure.
Head of the office's drainage and climate affairs division, Asikin Kusnandi, identified Kapetakan and Kroya districts as the hardest hit areas, with 4,127 hectares of fields affected.
He said the water level had increased thanks to the rain, but farmers in Kapetakan did not celebrate as the rain had caused sea water intrusion.
Asikin said he had asked the regency administration to build an emergency dam in Winong river to prevent sea water intrusion.
Meanwhile, the East Java provincial government is considering a cloud seeding program (rain making) to deal with water shortage in 15 regencies.
Governor Imam Utomo said on Monday he had asked the State Minister of Research and Technology office to carry out the project. He said prolonged drought would jeopardize the province's rice production.
Jakarta has delayed cloud seedings in West Java and Central Java after requests from the two provincial governments.