BMKG Asks Residents To Beware Of Potential Forest And Land Fires In Central Kalimantan

Joint officers extinguished forest and land fires in Palangka Raya City. BETWEEN/HO-BPBD Palangka Raya City

PALANGKA RAYA - Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Tjilik Riwut Palangka Raya asked residents to be aware of the potential for forest and land fires (karhutla) in the Central Kalimantan Province (Kalteng).

"Be aware of the potential for forest and land fires in the Central Kalimantan region. Residents are asked not to burn land for any purpose," said BMKG forecaster Tjilik Riwut Palangka Raya Ika as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 29.

According to him, the potential for forest and land fires is because from the results of the weather forecast for a week, there were no signs of rain that flushed the province nicknamed "Bumi Tambun Bungai, Bumi Pancasila".

"This condition causes the land in the Central Kalimantan region, some of which are peat, will be very dry so that it will be flammable. If it is burned, peatlands will be very potential and easy for the spread or expansion of fire disasters," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Palangka Raya City Health Office Andjar Hari Purnomo asked residents in the local area to be aware of the potential for decreasing air quality due to the dry season and forest and land fires.

"The phenomenon of the emergence of smoke from forest and land fires will reduce the quality of the air to unhealthy. This condition must always be monitored by the public when they are going to do activities outside the home," he said.

Andjar said that the severe decline in air quality will have a direct impact on human health, especially on those who fall into the vulnerable category and people with degenerative diseases.

"Those who fall into this vulnerable category are babies, children under five years old (toddlers), and the elderly. Meanwhile, degenerative diseases are health conditions that cause tissue or organs to worsen over time," he said.

When viewed from the increasing number of forest and land fires cases, Andjar asked the public to start to be aware of the health impacts that could be caused.

"Efforts to detect early and anticipatory detection, the public can find out the air quality index by accessing the ISPUnet application issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry," he said.