REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- The Terra and Aqua satellites detected five hotspots indicating forest fires in Riau Province on Monday. It was seen with a confidence level of above 50 percent. "Five hot spots are found in three districts," Slamet Riyadi, head of the data and information section of the Pekanbaru meteorology office, stated.

Three hotspots were detected in Rokan Hilir and one each in Siak and Pelalawan. Senior Commissioner Guntur Aryo Tejo, spokesman of the Riau Police, noted that most forest and plantation fires in Riau were deliberate and caused by humans.

The number of hotspots across the country has decreased significantly, from 21,929 in 2015 to 3,915 hotspots in 2016 and 2,567 hotspots in 2017.

Also read: Satellites detect 15 hotspots in Riau

Officers of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and Police have played a crucial role in the forest fire mitigation task force by taking precautionary measures against fires in the past two years.

Last January, spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho had also stated that precautionary measures should be taken to prevent the occurrence of forest fires during the 2018 Asian Games.

Sutopo claimed that precautionary steps need to be taken long before the event, especially in terms of preparing measures to prevent forest and land fires.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika