Poisonous Haze worsens, in Indonesia's Sumatra,
Pastor Dale Morgan
Poisonous Haze worsens, in Indonesia's Sumatra,*
JAKARTA, Aug 26 (AFP) Aug 26, 2006
Choking poisonous haze from forest and ground fires blanketed the
southern parts of the Indonesian island of Sumatra Saturday, disrupting
flight schedules in one of the region's towns, officials said.
In the town of Jambi, thin vertical visibility around the airport
delayed the departure of two domestic flights, said an airport official
who identified herself only as Ida.
She said the haze had forced another domestic flight to land at
Palembang airport in nearby South Sumatra province.
"The plane tried six times to land here but it eventually was re-routed
to Palembang. But so far, we are still in operation," Ida said.
Airport chief Basuki Mardianto, in a report on ElShinta radio, described
Saturday's haze as the worst this week and warned the airport could
close if conditions deteriorated.
Vertical visibility in Jambi at 0200 GMT was only 300 meters (990 feet),
said Remus Tobing, a scientist at Jambi's meterological agency.
Tobing said Jambi's environmental impact agency registered Saturday's
air pollution index at an unhealthy level but had provided no figures.
"The core problem here remains the burning of forests and ground
clearing," he told AFP.
He said satellites had Friday recorded 40 hot spots or burning areas in
four districts surrounding Jambi.
Jambi police said 1,000 officers were helping state forest firemen
extinguish the hotspots.
In the neighbouring town of Pekanbaru in Riau province, haze continued
to shroud parts of the city but had not disturbed flights there, said
airport chief Alexius Kiswoyo.
Visibility at 0400 GMT was measured at 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles).
"There is still some smoke blanketing the city. The meteorological
agency predicted that today's (Saturday) weather should improve but the
people who carry out forest and ground burning are unpredictable and
ignorant," Kiswoyo said.
Burning in Indonesia and some parts of Malaysia to clear land for crops
causes an annual haze that afflicts Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as
well as Indonesia.
Malaysia on Thursday urged Indonesia to crack down on forest fires and
warned that the choking pollution was hurting economies and deterring
tourists.
Singapore and Thailand have also been affected in recent years.
Malaysia's worst-affected region so far this year is in Sarawak where
Kuching had an unhealthily high reading of 157 last week.
The Indonesian government has outlawed land clearing by fire but weak
enforcement means the ban is largely ignored.