JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities are stepping up efforts to contain forest and land fires as haze spreads across the region and air quality continues to deteriorate in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
The country has been battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, which could go on until early November, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni told local media on Wednesday (Sep 16).
“These forest and wildfires will remain with us until October or early November,” he said, adding that the rainy season is also expected to arrive late.
The Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said on Tuesday that it is expanding firefighting efforts for wildfire management beyond the current six priority provinces – Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, state news agency Antara reported.
Acting head of the agency’s Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre, Berton SP Panjaitan, said that operations would now also cover high-risk areas such as Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park and Mount Butak in East Java, where water bombing helicopters have been deployed.
Joint firefighting teams are also carrying out intensive operations in North Maluku, Central Java, North Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Lampung and Southeast Sulawesi, Berton told an online press conference.
The expanded operations come ahead of dense haze forecasts and are aimed at preventing forest fires from causing more widespread damage, he added.
“We’ve seen a surge in hotspot activity and smoke intensity in several areas. We urge everyone to remain vigilant and take precautionary measures against airborne pollutants,” Antara quoted Berton as saying.
The highest concentration of air pollutants were seen in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, Berton said, also citing data from the Environment Ministry’s Air Pollution Standard Index (ISPU) – with the situation yet to show signs of improvement.
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