Kindergartens, elementary schools stop activities

Kindergartens, elementary schools stop activities

Bambang Bider
and Tiarma Siboro
The Jakarta Post
Pontianak/Jakarta

Many kindergartens and elementary schools in Central Kalimantan
have temporarily suspended classes due to the thick haze that has
blanketed Palangkaraya, the capital of the Central Kalimantan
province.

The schools suspended activities to avoid the impact of the
haze and drought that has affected the province for weeks, Antara
news agency reported on Thursday.

The haze, which started shrouding a major part of Kalimantan
and Sumatra last month, has raised air pollution to alarming
levels, causing respiratory problems and disruption to air
transportation to the two islands.

Arnold Singarimbun, a medical staff at the Doris Sylvanus
General Hospital said more and more people were suffering from
haze-related respiratory problems.

"So far, two children have died of respiratory problems in the
hospital," he said.

Separately, the head of the Pontianak health office, Oskar
Primadi, revealed that at least 2,464 people had experienced
respiratory problems triggered by the air pollution over the last
one month.

The atmosphere in Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan,
has returned to normal, after haze enveloped it for more than a
month.

The haze has gradually dispersed following three days of heavy
rain that has cleared the air and has improved visibility to some
1,000 and 5,000 meters.

Nevertheless, Adiany, an official at the local environment
agency, warned locals to keep on using masks outdoors even though
the Standard Air Pollution Index (ISPU) which measures air
quality, had reduced to 129 from 1,000.

An ISPU level of between 0 and 55 is considered optimum.

"The situation will be better in the next few days as rain is
forecast to continue falling over the territory," Adiany said.

The thick haze from forest fires has also reducing visibility
and badly affected local residents and those in neighboring
Malaysia and Singapore.

Since the great forest fires of 1997, the three countries have
stepped up efforts to jointly battle forest fires with Malaysia
often sending its firefighters to help their Indonesian
counterparts.