[International] Indonesia Wildfires Double Burned Land Area, Air Pollution Haze Spreads to Neighboring Singapore and Malaysia
RtiTalk 小編1d ago
Reuters reported on the 20th that according to data from a deforestation monitoring agency, the area of land burned by fires in Indonesia in September doubled compared to the previous month. Indonesia is currently making all-out efforts to combat fierce wildfires, which have caused air pollution, respiratory problems, and cross-border haze spreading to neighboring countries.
According to estimates from "Nusantara Atlas," an independent platform tracking forest conditions in Equatorial Asia, the cumulative area of land burned by fires in Indonesia by the end of August was 895,650 hectares (approximately 2.2 million acres). However, this figure had surged to 1.92 million hectares (approximately 4.74 million acres) by the end of September.
This figure also exceeds the cumulative 1.39 million hectares burned during the same period in 2019. 2019 was a severe year for Indonesian wildfires, with a total of 2.63 million hectares of land eventually destroyed by fires.
According to the fire map displayed by Nusantara Atlas, as of the 20th, there were a total of 1.15 million fire hotspots within Indonesia.
The continuous onslaught of wildfires in Indonesia has also led to respiratory problems for hundreds of thousands of people. The thick haze has further drifted to neighboring countries Singapore, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste, drawing strong criticism.
Indonesia has already commenced artificial weather modification operations on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The artificial rain-making missions carried out by the authorities have brought rainfall to several fire hotspots and improved local air quality.
Authorities stated that the largest-scale modification operation has been launched in West Kalimantan, with 107 sorties conducted over the past four weeks.
Presidential Palace spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a statement: "We use dry ice to disperse smoke and allow sunlight to help trigger cloud formation, followed by artificial rain-making operations by seeding salt particles."
According to data from civil aviation authorities, a total of 2,604 domestic flights in Indonesia have been affected by the fires since August 11th, with over 1,400 flights canceled or delayed. The haze interferes with aircraft landing, takeoff, and ground operations.
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=238731
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