Jambi residents told to wear masks

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post, Jambi

The quality of air in Jambi city has deteriorated in the last few days due to haze, prompting the local government to call on people on Friday to wear masks outside their homes.

Subakir, the head of the environment monitoring division at Jambi Provincial Administration's Health Office, stressed on Friday that ash particles in the air caused by forest fires in the province had risen above the tolerable level.

According to laboratory tests at Jambi's Health Office, ash particles had reached 275.57 micrograms per meter cubic of air on average per day, far above the tolerable level of 260 micrograms per cubic meter. The samples were collected over the past few days.

Similarly, Jambi's Environmental Impact Management Agency also noted that the air in the city contained 190 particles for every 10 microns, far higher than the normal rate of between zero to 100 particles per 10 microns.

Subakir said that the air in Jambi was harmful to the health of residents in the province, moreover some particles in the ashes were hazardous, including CO2.

The most immediate effect was that people were suffering from cough and respiratory problems. People, especially children, could also suffer from skin and eye irritation. In the long run, the haze causes pneumonia and asthma.

In order to prevent this gloomy scenario, Subakir suggested that Jambi residents avoid going out of their homes, especially at night.

If they have to go out, they should wear masks.

As of Friday, thick haze blanketed all parts of the city.

Many motorists turned on fog lights for fear of possible accidents. Some residents have started to wear masks.

On the same day, the North Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite detected 29 hotspots in Jambi province, suggesting that forest fires occurred on the same day in many parts of the province.

Jambi law enforcers are still investigating who should be held responsible for the spreading forest fires in the province, which have led to the thick haze.

Haze has been long-term problem for provincial governments in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Aside from local residents, the haze coming from Indonesian territories has also badly affected Malaysia and Singapore.

The government and the neighboring countries have conducted many meetings to address the problems of haze, but efforts appear fruitless to date.