Thick haze risks health, affects trafic in Riau

Thick haze risks health, affects trafic in Riau

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

Choking haze plaguing the main island of Riau and the Riau
archipelago, bordering Singapore and Malaysia, has reached an
alarming level, raising health concerns and disturbing traffic in
the province.

The thick haze, caused by smoke from forest fires in almost
all regencies, blanketed the province, including the provincial
capital of Pekanbaru, on Monday and Tuesday.

Visibility was limited to less than 100 meters early on
Tuesday from less than 500 meters on Monday. Many people
complained of eye irritation and had difficulty breathing.

The local health office has distributed masks to motorists and
pedestrians in the city. But, so far, no hospitals in the city
have admitted patients with respiratory problems or lung
ailments.

The thick haze has also disrupted the traffic within the city
and to and from the city. Motorists in the city are using masks
and helmets to avoid breathing in the smog.

The Sultan Sjarif Kasim II Airport continued to operate, but
all airplanes flying to and from the province were warned about
the thick haze that has reached an intolerable level. Many
drivers complained that they had to spend 10 hours from the
normal seven hours to reach the city from the West Sumatra
capital of Padang. And thousands of inter-province buses and
trucks used fog lights due to poor visibility.

Local authorities have blamed the choking haze on the rampant
fires set by farms and palm oil plantations to clear their land
at the start of the dry season as is done annually.

According to Singapore-based National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) imagery on June 9, there were 1,280 hot
spots and a total of around 12,000 hectares of rain forest was
burning in almost all regencies in the province.

Chief of the forest protection section at the local forestry
office Farizal Labay told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday that
according to the NOAA imagery, Riau was the largest area hit by
the haze and fires since the number of hot spots in other
provinces, including West and Central Kalimantan was less than
200.

He said that of the 1,280 hot spots, 276 were found in
Bengkalis regency, 388 in Kampar, 47 in Indragiri Hulu, 40 in
Kuantan Sengingi, 147 in Rokan Hulu, 46 in Indragiri Hilir, 138
in Rokan Hilir, 35 in Dumai and the rest was found in the Riau
archipelago.

Labay said his office has deployed 240 firemen with many
tankers to the fire sites, but they had difficulty accessing the
fire sites as they were located far from main roads.

He regretted the provincial administration's tardy response in
handling the forest fires, saying all sides involved in starting
the forest fires should be punished in accordance with the
environmental and forestry laws.

"Authorities could impose Article 5 of Law No. 41/1999 on
forestry against individuals, plantation and forestry companies
using fires to clear their land," he said, citing that the
article carries a maximum 15 years imprisonment and a maximum
fine of Rp 5 billion (US$609,756).

There is no information whether the thick haze has reached
neighboring countries of Singapore and Malaysia, but according to
NOAA imagery, as many as 76 hot spots were detected in Malaysia.

I-box
Hot spots detected through NOAA satellite on June 9

Province/Country number of hot spots
Riau 1280
West Sumatra 79
North Sumatra 176
Jambi 112
South Sumatra 27
Bengkulu 20
Lampung 8
West Java 9
Central Kalimatan 6
Malaysia 76
Thailand 6