Karhutla in South Kalimantan Widespread, Air Quality Increasingly Worrying

Illustration of forest fires (ANTARA)

BANJARBARU - Forest and land fires (karhutla) that are currently sweeping South Kalimantan are increasingly widespread until Friday, August 18. As a result of these fires, smog has blanketed national roads, resulting in limited visibility, and worsening air quality.

The Pengayuan area of ​​Jembatan Dua, Liang Anggang District, Banjarbaru City, is the center of karhutla which is still ongoing and continues to expand. Officers had difficulty extinguishing the fire that was raging in this forest and peatland.

As a result, the haze has covered national road access that connects various regencies and cities in South Kalimantan. Not only that, the thick smog from forest and land fires has also worsened air quality.

Rachmat Hidayat, an officer from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Kalimantan Province, said that the forest and land fires in the Pengayuan area were expanding and approaching residents' settlements and disrupting traffic. This condition was triggered by the dry season and strong winds which fueled the blaze.

"The fire occurred in the Pengayuan area, near the second bridge. The fire spread because of the strong winds and headed towards settlements and disrupted traffic flow," said Rahmat Friday, August 18.

Rahmat added that the hard-to-obtain water supply is one of the main obstacles in efforts to extinguish forest and peatland fires. In addition, there were no water tankers that could reach the location of the fire, which made it even more difficult to extinguish the fire.

"Here, water points are hard to come by and there are no tankers to carry the necessary water supplies," he added.

Meanwhile, the continuing occurrence of forest and land fires in South Kalimantan has caused thick smoke haze, disrupting the visibility of motorists and worsening air quality. Therefore, people are advised to be careful when driving and to wear masks when doing outdoor activities.