The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru, Indonesia, has detected 54 hotspots at high risk of bush and forest fires in several parts of Riau province, Sumatra island.
Jakarta (VNA) – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency(BMKG) in Pekanbaru, Indonesia, has detected 54 hotspots at high risk of bushand forest fires in several parts of Riau province, Sumatra island.
Head of theagency Sukisno said based on the latest images released by the Terra & AquaSatellite, half of the hotspots were discovered in seven wards and districts inthe province.
As many as 28 hotspots were found in Bengkalis district,including Rupat Island with 22 hotspots.
Up to 40 of the 54 hotspots indicated high potentialoccurrences of bush and forest fires with a confidence level of above 70percent.
Meanwhile, head of the Riau Disaster MitigationAgency Edwar Sanger noted that nearly 860 ha of land were affected by bush andforest fires since January 2019. Bengkalis district was the hardest-hit with some639 ha.
The mitigation efforts were hindered by the lackof fire extinguishers and water sources being located away from the affectedareas.
Indonesia isprone to forest fire due to its weather and local agricultural practice. 2015was considered the worst year with forest fire lasting for months, causinglosses estimated at at least 35 billion USD and serious haze pollutionaffecting several countries in the region such as Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei,Thailand and the Philippines. -VNA
The Indonesian police on October 20 published the names of seven foreign companies and their leaders suspected of causing forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
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Illustrative image (Source: Xinhua) 
