Smoke Fog Emergency In Banjarmasin Impact Of Forest And Land Fires, BPBD Reveals The Cause

The joint team is still trying to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla) in South Kalimantan which caused smog in Banjarmasin City.

The Head of BPBD Banjarmasin City, Husni Thamrin, said that the joint team was able to map the source area and control strategy.

From June 26 to October 3, 2023, the Banjarmasin City BPBD recorded 33 land fires in its area.

"The area of these 33 points is 5.3 hectares. The scale is small and relatively easy to reach because access is not far from the road, so we can start to overcome it," said Husni in his statement, Friday, October 6.

The forest fires that occurred in the area around Banjarmasin City made the smog expand, especially over the past week. This smog has also been felt by the community.

"This is partly the cause of negligence due to the burning of garbage that was left and then spread to the bush," he said. "Therefore, the air of banjarmasin in the last few days has not been healthy because it has been surrounded by smoke from this shipment and we have anticipated this," he continued.

Currently, the local government is still trying to handle the smoke fog by coordinating with the provincial and local governments. In addition to helping with the handling of smoke in ring 1 of the airport, masks were also distributed to officers in the field as well as people in border areas.

"We urge the public not to leave the house if they have to leave the house, they must wear masks," explained Husni.

The Banjarmasin City Government has also set an emergency status for smog fog due to forest and land fires (karhutla) until October 30, 2023.

At the emergency status of this smog, the City Government of Banjarmasin has also established distance learning (PJJ) for students from the PAUD to SMP levels from 4-7 October 2023.