REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- The Terra and Aqua satellites detected nine hotspots of forest and plantation fires in Riau Province, Monday, despite rains reported over the last few days.

"The nine hotspots are detected in the northern part of Bengkalis District," Head of the Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Sugarin noted in a short text message on Monday (9/3).

Of the nine hotspots, six have accuracy above 70 percent, notably one in Bukitbati sub-district and five in Bengkalis sub-district.

The hotspots have the potential to produce haze that could envelop Pekanbaru, the province's capital. Currently, haze has affected Dumai city and Duri in Bengkalis District.

During a coordinating meeting held at the Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base in Pekanbaru, Monday, the Riau Haze Emergency Task Force decided to conduct water bombing using a helicopter and carry out cloud seeding operations to trigger artificial rains over the coastal area of Bengkalis District.

Earlier, the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) had scattered 6.2 tons of salt to trigger artificial rains over Riau province, which is currently being hit by forest and plantation fires.

"Yesterday, we aimed to use salt in the eastern coastal areas of Riau. Till now, some 6.2 tons of salt have been dispersed over the province," Coordinator of Climate Modification Technology Sutrisno recently noted.

On Wednesday, some 2 tons of salt were scattered by a Casa 212-200 aircraft over Dumai and Rokan Hulu, where several hotspots were detected.

In addition to conducting cloud seeding activities, the authorities also dropped water bombs over the forest fires using a helicopter.

Moreover, the Terra and Aqua Satellites detected 86 hotspots indicating forest fires in Riau province on Wednesday, according to the BMKG.

"On March 4, at 7 a.m. Eastern Indonesian Time, the satellites detected a total of 96 hotspots over the Sumatran Island, with 86 of them in Riau," Sugarin affirmed.

Of the 86 detected hotspots in Riau, 55 had accuracy level above 70 percent, which indicated that they were the source of forest fires.

In February, the local authority had declared an emergency response status over the forest fires in the region due to the looming dry weather and the rampant land-clearing activities carried out by setting fire to the vegetation.

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