Over 107,000 hectares of forest, land affected by fires in Indonesia
The government is stepping up efforts to prevent transboundary haze from affecting neighbouring countries.
Indonesia has reported over 107,000 hectares of forest and land affected by fires as of Monday, with the government intensifying efforts to prevent transboundary haze from impacting neighboring countries. Coordinating minister for political and security affairs, Djamari Chaniago, stated that no reports had been received about smoke from Indonesian fires affecting other nations.
He emphasized that the government's actions were not only aimed at extinguishing fires and safeguarding the environment and public health but also represented a national responsibility.
Chaniago revealed that approximately 43 helicopters and 10-15 fixed-wing aircraft, along with substantial ground resources, were deployed for firefighting operations. Weather modification was identified as one of the most effective measures to combat the fires, although its implementation relied on the presence of suitable rain-bearing clouds.
Forecasts suggested a chance of cloud formation on three to four days between August 18 and August 18. Six provinces, including Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan, were closely monitored as the most critical areas due to the heightened risk of forest and land fires exacerbated by strong El Nino conditions, which were expected to persist until late September or early October.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
