Jakarta (Greeners) – As much as 64 hotspots and 157 hotspots, recorded by NOAA and TERRA AQUA satellites, respectively, throughout the country by 23 July have prompted Environment and Forestry Ministry to dispatch its Forest and Land Fires Task Force for ground checks and fire fighting in several locations, said a senior official, in Jakarta, on Monday (24/7).
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“Based on field report up to July 23rd, land and forest fires which managed to be tackled covers a total of 2,232.521 ha with increased activities in North Sumatra, Riau, and South Sumatra,” said spokesman Djati Witjaksono Hadi.
Furthermore, Hadi said that fire fighting efforts, consultation, and integrated patrols have been intensified by the task force on fires prone areas, including water bombing which had used up 10 million liters of water since February on provinces of Riau, West Kalimantan and South Sumatra.
Meanwhile, artificial rains have already been applied on Riau, West Kalimantan and South Sumatra, which spent up to 51.8 tons of salt since June.
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“Up to date, there are no reports on transboundary haze from land and forest fires prone provinces, which are categorized as normal with PM10 equals to 0, except Riau province with 46.67,” he said.
Reports by Danny Kosasih
21 Apr 2024 
