322 Fire Points Of Forest And Land Fire Detected On The Island Of Sumatra, South Sumatra Most

PEKANBARU - A total of 322 hotspots (hotspots) of forest and land fires (karhutla) were detected in eight provinces in Sumatra. The most hotspots are in South Sumatra Province (Sumsel) totaling 158 points.

Furthermore, in Bengkulu one point, Jambi seven points, West Sumatra 10 points, Lampung 67 points, North Sumatra two, Bangka Belitung 69 points and Riau eight points.

Forecaster on Duty BMKG SSK II Pekanbaru, Anggun, said Pekanbaru City had experienced fog and limited visibility this morning, Monday, September 11. However, it did not come from smoke from forest and land fires.

Head of the Class I Meteorological Station Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Pekanbaru, Ramlan explained, the fog in the morning that enveloped Pekanbaru City and its surroundings was fuzzy air or haze.

"That's what we call running air or haze. This is caused by morning dew and high humidity on the surface, so that the air particles move slowly and heavily," he said.

However, he said, along with the emergence of sunlight, the haze conditions began to decompose and lift into the air.

Previously, a total of 1,146.79 hectares (ha) of land in Riau Province had been burned since January 2023. Most recently, forest and land fires hit Pekanbaru City on Monday (7/8/2023) night. In that incident, a total of half a hectare of land owned by residents caught fire.

According to data from the Riau Province BPBD, the largest forest and land fires occurred in Bengkalis Regency, which reached nearly 378 hectares. Furthermore, in Rokan Hilir Regency 230 ha, Dumai City 112.87 ha, Pelalawan Regency 91.2 ha, Kampar Regency 74.84 ha, Indragiri Hilir Regency (Inhil) 85.07 ha.

In addition, Indragiri Hulu Regency (Inhu) 49.20 ha, Siak Regency 41.32 ha, Pekanbaru City 37.82 ha, Rokan Hulu (Rohul) 26.40 ha, Meranti Regency 18.25 ha, and Kuantan Singingi Regency (Kuansing) 2 ha.