Satellite images show more hot spots
Satellite images show more hot spots
JAKARTA (JP): Satellite images showed yesterday an overnight
increase in the number of fires, or hot spots, in Kalimantan,
Sumatra and Java, according to the Environmental Impact and
Management Agency.
The agency said in its report that on Friday evening the
number of hot spots was 16, but rose to 40 Saturday. The
situation persisted until yesterday morning.
The hot spots in Sumatra spread in the provinces of Riau,
Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra and Lampung with the majority of
22 hot spots detected in South Sumatra.
In Kalimantan, there was one hot spot in West Kalimantan and
one in Central Kalimantan. In Java, there were five hot spots:
three scattered in West Java and two in East Java.
"However, it is possible that the satellites can not trace all
of the existing hot spots as thick haze still blankets Sumatra
and Kalimantan," the agency said Saturday.
Yesterday, the visibility in the towns of Lhokseumawe, Rengat,
Jambi, Kerinci in Sumatra, and Nangapinoh, Pontianak, Ketapang,
Pangkalan Bun and Palangkaraya in Kalimantan was less than one
kilometer.
The thick haze caused by the forest fires forced the Sultan
Toha Airport in Jambi, Supadio Airport in Pontianak and Tjilik
Riwut Airport in Palangkaraya to close down the entire day.
The agency said that judging from yesterday's forecast of the
wind direction, the haze in Kalimantan might spread toward the
southern and western parts of Kalimantan, the Malaysian Sarawak
and the peninsula.
The haze caused by brush and forest fires in the southern part
of Sumatra would blow toward Riau, North Sumatra and Aceh.
"The number of hot spots may increase judging from the
increasing speed of wind from five knots to 20 knots, while the
absence of rain may also worsen the situation, especially in
Kalimantan," the agency said.
"The visibility in Kalimantan and Sumatra will drop and the
haze will spread to an even wider area. It is predicted that
there will be more airports closed," the agency said.
Antara reported over the weekend that fires again razed
forests in Mount Merbabu, Telomoyo and Mt. Ungaran in Central
Java from Friday.
Strong wind and water shortage was worsening the situation and
local people could not do much to put out the fires, it said.
In another dispatch, Antara reported that a reforestation
program would be launched soon to replant 3,283 hectares of the
61,000 hectare Bukit Soeharto National Park razed by the fires
this year.
"Forestry concession holders are obliged to replant the
damaged areas," head of East Kalimantan's Ministry of Forestry
Syachranie said Saturday.
He said fires have razed 29,029 hectares of forest in the
province and caused Rp 73.2 billion (US$21 million) in losses.
Forest fires burned out of control and razed hundreds of
houses in Bati-Bati, Tanah Laut regency last week.
International assistance is still pouring in. The United
States announced Friday a program for technical assistance to
Indonesia and Malaysia, two countries most troubled by the smoke
and haze that hangs over the region.
The aid will include immediate humanitarian relief and the
lending of three C-130 transport planes to help douse the fires.
Indonesia has received funds from Britain, South Korea,
Norway, the U.S. and many others. It also received computers,
satellite photos from Singapore and portable water cannons from
Japan. (prb/aan)