JAKARTA: (Bernama) The Air Pollutant Standard Index (ISPU) in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan surged back above 1,000 on Wednesday (Sept 2), reaching 1,016 in Southeast Pontianak, as pollutants from forest and land fires were forecast to continue spreading towards Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Acting Head of the Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre Berton Panjaitan said pollutant concentrations remained particularly dense across West, Central and South Kalimantan, with the spread expected to become more extensive.
Speaking at a daily online press conference on Wednesday, Berton said the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecast that the spread of pollutants in Kalimantan on Sept 3 would be more extensive than today.
Data presented during the press conference showed that the ISPU reading in Southeast Pontianak at 3.47 pm on Wednesday had more than doubled from 468 on Tuesday.
Katingan, East Kotawaringin and Gunung Mas in Central Kalimantan also recorded readings above 500 at 577, 559 and 523, respectively.
In its forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, BMKG reported an escalation in pollutant concentrations from fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, with winds carrying the pollutants north and northwest across the Strait of Malacca and the Natuna Sea towards neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, figures from the six provinces prioritised for forest and land fire control - West, Central and South Kalimantan, as well as Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra - showed a total of 157 fire spots on Wednesday, up from 136 on Tuesday.
Across the three priority provinces in Kalimantan, the number of fire spots rose to 110 from 106, with South Kalimantan increasing to 29 from 13 and West Kalimantan edging up to 31 from 30, while Central Kalimantan declined to 50 from 63.
In the three priority provinces in Sumatra, the number of fire spots rose to 47 from 30, driven by increases in Riau to 19 from four and South Sumatra to 21 from 13, while Jambi declined to seven from 13.
As firefighting efforts continued, Berton said weather modification operations on Tuesday produced light to moderate rain in parts of Riau and light rain in Jambi and South Sumatra. However, similar operations in West and Central Kalimantan failed to produce rain due to limited cloud formation.
He said no weather modification operation were conducted in South Kalimantan due to the absence of suitable clouds, while difficult access, distant water sources, extensive affected areas, strong winds and smoke continued to hamper firefighting efforts there.
He noted that BNPB was coordinating with the Nusantara Capital Authority and BMKG on potential forest and land fires around the new capital in East Kalimantan. - Bernama
