Thin Haze Suspected from Forest Fires Blankets Pekanbaru This Morning
A thin haze suspected to be smoke from forest and land fires (karhutla) has begun to blanket Pekanbaru City, Riau.
The thin haze was clearly visible from around 06:30 WIB on Tuesday morning (11/8) in the vicinity of the Siak River Bridge and Jalan Sudirman in Pekanbaru, and it felt different from morning dew because there was no fresh air and it appeared while Riau was experiencing an El Niño dry spell and forest fires.
“This is smoke haze, isn’t it? This is different from morning dew, it is not fresh,” said Lestari, a Pekanbaru resident, on Tuesday (11/8).
Although the thin haze did not yet smell, visibility of office buildings and the Siak River Bridge was shrouded in white mist from a distance. A number of motorcyclists were seen starting to wear masks. In addition, some residents were still cycling and jogging in the morning despite the white haze covering the morning sunlight.
Meanwhile, the air quality index released on the website of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) showed that air quality in Pekanbaru City was at a moderate level at 06:00 WIB with a figure of 43.2 particulate matter. Until now there has been no official statement regarding the thin haze covering Pekanbaru City on Tuesday morning (11/9), whether it is dew or smoke haze from forest fires.
Forest and land fires in Riau Province have burned an area of 15,608.37 hectares since the beginning of 2026.
Forest fire suppression operations in Riau are showing positive progress. The joint task force is focusing on cooling peatlands to prevent the emergence of embers.
A joint team of police, military and disaster mitigation agency personnel is battling to extinguish 12.5 hectares of forest fires in Siak Kecil and Mandau, Bengkalis. The fire has been brought under control.
Forest fires in Kerumutan, Pelalawan, Riau, have entered their tenth day and have not been extinguished. The burned area has reached 64 hectares with difficult terrain.
The Manggala Agni team is expanding forest fire suppression efforts in Indragiri Hulu and Bengkalis, Riau. Limited access and strong winds are obstacles in the field.