Pollution emergency declared in Riau

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government today declared a pollution emergency in Riau after the haze situation in the region hit dangerous levels.

Riau local daily, Tribun Pekanbaru, quoted Acting Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman as saying that the capital of Riau, Pekanbaru, is in a very unhealthy situation.

He said the air quality had reached a dangerous level with API reading exceeding 1000.

Meanwhile, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar was quoted as saying that local authorities in Riau had been instructed to open health posts.

She said the authorities were also monitoring operations to douse forest flames and fires in plantations in Jambi and South Sumatra.

Thick smoke due to forest fires in both the areas has caused serious haze in Malaysia and Singapore.

Siti Nurbaya said efforts douse the forest flames were being intensified using aircraft to water-bomb the raging blazes and conduct cloud seeding.

“As of now, 18 million litres of water have been poured in Riau and 12 million litres in South Sumatera for water bombing, and for cloud seeding, 120 tonnes of salt have been used in Riau and another 56 tonnes in South Sumatra and Jambi,” she said.

President Joko Widodo, who is now visiting the Middle-East, is reported to have directed authorities to take action against those responsible for the fires. – Bernama