Haze returns to Pontianak, interrupts flight schedules
Haze returns to Pontianak, interrupts flight schedules
PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): Choking haze from forest
fires has returned to West Kalimantan after 10 days without any
rain.
The smog reappeared after people had enjoyed clean air for
almost three weeks. Haze blanketed the entire city for all of
July, disrupting flights in and out of the airport.
PT Angkasa Pura II at Supadio Airport in Pontianak said on
Saturday that all flight arrivals and departures were between 60
and 90 minutes behind schedule since Wednesday. PT Angkasa Pura
II is a state-owned company which manages the airport.
Ida, a staff member of the company, said that airplanes
scheduled to take off before 8:30 a.m. were Pelita Air, Merpati,
Garuda and Bouraq, all bound for Jakarta, Dirgantara Air Service,
with flights bound for Ketapang, Sintang and Putussibau, and
Deraya, with flights bound for Ketapang, Pangkalan Bun and
Semarang.
The head of the provincial transportation office, Salam
Susanto, called on airlines not to let pilots fly in poor weather
conditions.
Pontianak residents have complained about respiratory
problems, influenza, colds and sore eyes.
Siantan Hulu community health center, for example, has treated
dozens of children and adults for flu and eye infections. "I have
had sore eyes for two days. I rode my motorbike without my
sunglasses on and too much smoke got in my eyes. They are now red
and painful because of infection," said Murni, a patient.
Meanwhile, Rukasi said most of the haze engulfing the city had
come from several districts in West Kalimantan as some farmers in
outlying areas were burning nonirrigated rice fields. He said
monitoring by the NOAA mapping satellite showed there were 80 hot
spots in West Kalimantan. Sintang district has the largest
number, followed by Sanggau district. Other districts, including
the city of Pontianak, only have two or three hot spots.
Another source of the haze was the burning of peat land around
the city. As soon as the dry season arrives, local residents burn
garbage in agricultural and land estates or in housing complexes.
A staff member of the Pontianak regional agency for control
over the environment, Rukasi, said that air quality readings
showed the haze was at a level harmful to human health and that
the sun's rays were prevented from reaching the earth's surface.
Visibility in the area around Jl. Budi Utomo was between 50
and 100 meters from 2:30 a.m. to 3:50 a.m. local time, but
cleared to over 1,000 meters after 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. (46)