Riau,Feb 18 – A total of 528 hotspots of forest, plantation and peatland fires were detected across Sumatra Island on Monday morning, Indonesian news agency Antara reported.
“Based on satellite imagery and data, 386 hotspots were recorded in the Riau province — the highest in the country,” said Slamet Riyadi, head of Pekanbaru Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysical Agency’s (BMKG) data and information section on Monday.
In Riau province, 136 hotspots were found in Bengkalis, 58 in Rokan Hilir, 52 in Meranti Islands, 35 in Dumai city, 34 in Siak, 28 in Indragiri Hilir, and one each in Rokan Hulu and Kampar.
Scarcity of rains in the province has triggered the spread of forest fires, which are often deliberately set by some local farmers or plantation companies with vested interests to clear the land.
On Feb 15, Terra and Aqua satellites detected 704 hotspots in Sumatra, an increase of almost 100 percent from 357 in the previous day. A total of 611 hotspots were spotted in Riau province, up from 53 a day earlier.
Sanya Gautami, an analyst at the BMKG, said the 704 hotspots were spread across the six provinces on Sumatra Island, including 64 in North Sumatra, 18 in Aceh, four each in Jambi and Bangka Belitung, and three in the Riau Islands province.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Feb 15 held a coordination meeting with government and law enforcement agencies to tackle the problem of haze from forest fires and drought this year.
– Bernama
