Jakarta – Hundreds of hotspots that indicate forest and land fires (Karhutla) were detected in Sumatra island and East Kalimantan province, while El Nino is haunting many palm oil producing areas across Indonesia.
Based on ground monitoring, there were a total of 136 hotspots found in Sumatra. The largest number of the hotspots were found in Bangka Belitung province with 30 hotspots, followed by Riau province with 29 hotspots, Lampung province with 26 hotspots, South Sumatra 17 hotspots, Jambi 15 hotspots, West Sumatra 10 hotspots, Bengkulu province 6 hotspots, and Kepulauan Riau province 2 hotspots.
In Riau province alone, which is the largest producer of palm oil in Indonesia, most of the hotspots were found in Bengkalis regency. “The highest level was found in Bengkalis regency with 8 hotspots, and the lowest level in Indragiri Hilir (Inhil) regency with 1 hotspot,” Forecaster on Duty of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Board (BMKG) Pekanbaru, Sanya G said on Wednesday, 09 August 2023.
Besides in Bengkalis and Inhil, the hotspots of Karhutla were also detected in regencies of Pelalawan, Kampar, Meranti and Indragiri Hulu with 3 hotspots in each of them. Then in Rokan Hulu, Rokan Hilir, Kuantan Singingi and Siak with 2 hotspots in each of them.
“Visibility in Pekanbaru city and surrounding areas ranges from 5 to 7 kilometers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the regional disasters mitigation board (BPBD) said on Sunday, 06 August 2023, a total of 1,146,79 hectares of lands in Riau province have caught fire since January 2023. The largest area of Karhutla was found in Bengkalis regency, which reached almost 378 hectares. It was followed by Rokan Hilir regency with 230 Ha, Kota Dumai 112.87 Ha, Pelalawan regency 91.2 Ha, Kampar regency 74.84 Ha, Indragiri Hilir (Inhil) 85.07 Ha and Indragiri Hulu (Inhu) 49.20 Ha.
Then in Siak regency 41.32 Ha, Pekanbaru mayoralty 37.82 Ha, Rokan Hulu (Rohul) 26.40 Ha, Meranti regency 18.25 Ha, and Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) regency 2 Ha.
The BMKG had also detected a total of 204 hotspots in East Kalimantan (Kaltim) province, which is also a major palm oil producing province in Kalimantan island.
“The 204 hotspots had been detected on Wednesday, 02 August 2023 since 01.00 – 24.00 WITA,” BMKG Balikpapan Meteorology Station’s Data and Information Section Coordinator Diyan Novrida said in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Thursday, 03 August 2023.
The 204 hotspots were found in six regencies of East Kalimantan, namely Paser regency with 5 hotspots, Kutai Barat 3 hotspots, Kutai Timur 65 hotspots, Kutai Kartanegara 40 hotspots, Berau 86 hotspots, and Mahakam Ulu 5 hotspots. (*)
Source: sawitku.id