Rain Falls Across Several Regencies, Hotspot Count in Riau Declines

Rain has fallen in a number of cities and regencies in Riau Province since last night. The rain is said to have succeeded in reducing forest and land fire hotspots in Bumi Lancang Kuning.

Head of Public Relations of the Riau Regional Police, Commissioner Akmadi, said the rain occurred from Tuesday night (25/8) until Wednesday morning (26/8). Rain fell in several locations affected by forest and land fires.

“Alhamdulillah, rain has fallen, some since last night. In Pekanbaru it rained last night. Then in Pelalawan it also rained just now. Then in Dumai and Rohil it also rained,” Akmadi told reporters on Wednesday (26/8/2026).

The rain fell with moderate to heavy intensity. The rainfall demonstrates the success of the Weather Modification Operation.

Based on monitoring by personnel in the field, heavy rain fell in the Bukit Batu sub-district, Bengkalis Regency, at 06.00 WIB this morning. The rain fell with heavy intensity.

The Simpang Tiga Marpoyan Damai area of Pekanbaru City was also reported to have experienced heavy rain. This condition has significantly reduced hotspots and smoke from forest and land fires.

Rain also fell in Pangkalan Kerinci sub-district, Pelalawan Regency, this morning. The rain is expected to help accelerate the extinguishing of forest and land fires.

“With this rain, alhamdulillah, there has been a decrease in hotspots,” he added.

Previously, the Head of the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency, M Edy Afrizal, stated that as of 23 August 2026 there were 306 hotspots in Riau Province, spread across 7 regencies. Currently, the largest fire spots are in Kerumutan, Pelalawan, and Rimbo Panjang, Kampar Regency.

Meanwhile, the total area of burned land in Riau from January to August 2026 reached 16,277.50 hectares. The number of hotspots from January to August was recorded at 10,514 points, with 521 of them having become fire spots.

Edy said that of the 16,277.50 hectares of burned land, most have been extinguished, with only around 900 hectares still being tackled.