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