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Indonesia: Thick smoke from forest fires disrupts flights

In a written statement on September 14, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry said the latest monitoring data shows a significant decrease in so-called “high-confidence” hot spots, strongly suspected to be caused by forest fires, in Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan.

Smoke rises from a land fire in South Sumatra, Indonesia (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Smoke rises from a land fire in South Sumatra, Indonesia (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Jakarta (VNA) – Thick smoke from forest fires has disrupted airline flights for several days in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province as an intensifying El Niño weather pattern and a prolonged dry season worsen the impact of blazes.

Since September 11, a thick white and yellowish haze has blanketed the city of Pontianak, reducing visibility to less than 1km.

Poor air quality and limited visibility have also hampered firefighting efforts, carried out with equipment from Japan that arrived on September 10.

Across Indonesia, seasonal forest fires are beginning to subside, but thick haze still shrouds parts of Kalimantan island.

In a written statement on September 14, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry said the latest monitoring data shows a significant decrease in so-called “high-confidence” hot spots, strongly suspected to be caused by forest fires, in Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan. There are no high-confidence hot spots in Riau province.

The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines, more than 800km away, and breached Malaysia’s emergency-level threshold for air pollution.

In response to the complex situation, Indonesia has stepped up firefighting operations across many provinces. Authorities have received support in the form of aircraft and equipment from regional and international partners, including Japan, the UA, Russia, Australia, Canada, and Ukraine./.

VNA
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