Pekanbaru, Riau, Sept 28 (Antarariau.com) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 32 hotspots indicating forest fires along the coastal area in Riau Province, on Friday.
The number of hotspots increased from 23 on Thursday, according to Sukisno, head of the Pekanbaru meteorology, climatology, and geophysics office.
Of the total 32 hotspots, 28 were found in Indragiri Hilir District, two in Indragiri Hulu, and two in Pelalawan District.
The satellites detected a total of 76 hotspots across Sumatra Island on Friday morning, including 32 in Riau.
A total of 15 hotspots were found in South Sumatra, 18 in Bangka Belitung, eight in Lampung, and three in Jambi.
Currently, drought has hit some regions in Indonesia, especially the islands of Java and Nusa Tenggara. The drought affected 4,053 villages in 888 sub-districts located in 111 districts and cities in 11 provinces.
Some 4.87 million people in the country are affected by this year's drought, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
The drought has also affected the agriculture sector, as farmers had to spend additional funds of some Rp800 thousand to rent water pumps and buy diesel fuel to water their paddy fields.
Satellites Detect 32 Hotspots Along Riau Coastal Area
