REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PONTIANAK - Haze has blanketed the capital city of West Kalimantan province, Pontianak, during the past few days as a result of forest fires in the area. Thick haze often appears during the morning and at night.
"We recommend the people to use face masks anytime they step out of their homes to avoid being infected by acute respiratory diseases," Pontianak's Chief of Environmental Body Multi Junto Bhatarendo stated on Wednesday.
He also called on the local people to desist from burning land to start new plantations.
Earlier, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho noted that the number of hotspots in several areas in Indonesia such as Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau were increasing.
"Based on observations using the Terra and Aqua satellite, there are 655 hotspots in Central Kalimantan province, 279 in West Kalimantan, 75 in South Kalimantan, 327 in South Sumatra, and 104 in Jambi," Nugroho remarked.
He explained that in South Sumatra, the wind blows the haze to the north and northeast of the province, which affects Riau, Singapore, and Malaysia. According to him, this time, the cause of most of the forest fires is deliberate burning by the people who want to clear land for new plantations.
"We have deployed seven helicopters to drop water over the land on fire. Apart from that, the local Disaster Mitigation Agency has also conducted several efforts to extinguish the fire," Nugroho added.
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