Indonesia's BNPB Rains 4.6 Million Liters of Water on Fires
BNPB has dropped 4.6 million liters of water to fight forest fires in six priority provinces, but will it be enough to quench the blazes?
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Indonesia has reported that 4.6 million liters of water have been dropped via water bombing to combat fires in several priority provinces, according to a report by TEMPO.CO on Thursday, August 26. BNPB's Acting Head of Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Berton SP Panjaitan, identified West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau as the affected provinces.
Panjaitan highlighted the challenges faced in tackling these fires, particularly the dense peatlands that require vast amounts of water to extinguish and the dwindling water sources located far from the hotspots. He also pointed out that adverse weather conditions and poor visibility further complicate aerial firefighting efforts.
Despite these obstacles, BNPB continues to explore ways to address the water shortage, including drilling wells and constructing canals to deliver water to the nearest fire spots. The agency is employing a combined strategy of ground and aerial operations, with ground teams in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan conducting firefighting, ground checks, and cooling measures.
Weather modification operations have also been successful in some areas of West Kalimantan, resulting in rainfall. Panjaitan urged affected residents, including those impacted by the recent earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara and ongoing forest fires, to remain vigilant, follow local officials' guidance, avoid burning or littering, and refrain from discarding cigarette butts carelessly.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
