Smoke worsens in Pekanbaru, again

The Jakarta Post, Oct 8 2015,


The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Pekanbaru, Riau, said smoke from land and forest fires had worsened again, reducing the visibility in the city to only around 50 meters on Thursday morning.

“Smoke shrouding Pekanbaru this morning was mixed with fog, reducing the visibility to only around 50 meters after it improved to around 1,000 meters on Wednesday morning,” BMKG Pekanbaru head Sugarin said as quoted by Antara news agency.

He further said apart from Pekanbaru, thick smoke from land and forest fires was also detected in several areas in Riau, such as in Rengat, Indragiri Hulu regency, where the visibility stood at only 500 meters.

Haze was also reported to have continued to blanket Pelalawan, in which the visibility was around 200 meters. Haze in Dumai was reported to have declined on Thursday morning, with the visibility reaching 1,000 meters.

Meanwhile, BMKG Pekanbaru said that as of 5 a.m. local time on Thursday, Terra and Aqua satellites detected 202 hot spots in areas across Sumatra.

“Most of the hot spots are still focused in South Sumatra, with 198 hot spots. Bangka Belitung and Lampung have one hot spot each,” said Sugarin



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