JAKARTA, Oct 13 — Forest and land fire hotspots across Indonesia’s six priority provinces have more than doubled in a single day, surging from 238 to 542, as worsening haze threatens air quality and disrupts air travel in parts of the country.
Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry said that it detected 1,085 high-confidence hotspots nationwide as of 9pm yesterday, based on satellite monitoring by its Forest and Land Fire Early Detection Information System (SiPongi).
Firefighting operations have continued across Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Central Kalimantan recorded the highest number of hotspots among the six provinces, with the figure surging to 227 from 74 a day earlier, followed by South Sumatra (147 from 121) and South Kalimantan (113 from 15).
West Kalimantan recorded 31 hotspots, up from 24, while Jambi rose to 24 from four. No hotspots were recorded in Riau.
It warned that fires could continue spreading beneath the surface, particularly in peatland areas, even after visible flames had been extinguished.
“Embers can persist and spread beneath the surface even when flames above ground are no longer visible. Therefore, particularly in peatland areas of South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, wetting and cooling operations must continue until the areas are completely safe,” the ministry said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, haze disrupted air travel in eastern Indonesia yesterday, forcing the cancellation of seven flights at the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and affecting 1,070 passengers.
ANTARA reported that the cancellations involved flights to Sorong, Ternate, Ambon, and Mamuju, while poor visibility at Sultan Baabullah Airport in Ternate, North Maluku, also forced diversions as visibility fell to about 1.2km.
The ministry's wildlife rescue and protection efforts covered 290 animals nationwide as of Thursday (October 8), including 96 Bornean orangutans, with 272 animals recorded across four provinces in Kalimantan.
