Dumai, Riau, (Antarariau.com) - Visibility in Dumai, Riau Province, dropped drastically to only five meters on Tuesday at 7 a.m. local time due to a thick haze produced by forest and plantation fires.
"Bukit Datur at 7 a.m.: The visibility is only five meters. Enjoy the haze," Naning, a local inhabitant, tweeted on Tuesday morning.
Erist, a local motorist, said the haze in South Dumai was so thick he had to be extra careful while riding his motorbike. He also complained that the haze hurt his eyes.
Dumai has been affected by the haze for the past week. The local environmental office has distributed 10 thousand face masks to pedestrians on the city s main roads to prevent them from developing respiratory problems due to the smog.
The Terra and Aqua Satellite detected 297 hotspots of forest fires on Sumatra Island on Tuesday morning, a significant increase from the 62 hotspots detected the previous day.
Of the total 297 hotspots, 140 hotspots were in North Sumatra, 81 in Riau Province, 67 in Aceh Darussalam, and three each in Riau Islands and West Sumatra, Bibin Sulianto, an analyst from the Pekanbaru meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG), stated in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, on Tuesday.
Sulianto noted that he did not know how the hotspots had developed, but he was certain they had nothing to do with the eruption of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra.
Indonesia is hit by forest fires almost every year. Some of these fires are set deliberately by irresponsible plantation companies hoping to clear the land for plantations or farming activities. This action is illegal in Indonesia.
Haze arising from land-clearing fires often degrades the air quality, triggers health problems for some people and reduces visibility in affected areas, in particular, in parts of Sumatra and the Kalimantan Islands.
Last year, the Indonesian government declared a state of emergency in Riau Province on June 21 after heavy smog blanketed parts of Sumatra Island, Singapore and Malaysia.
Haze Reduces Visibility To Five Meters In Dumai
