Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (Antara Babel)- The Pangkalpinang meteorology office detected three hotspots in Bangka Belitung Province, on Tuesday morning.

"Previously, on Monday (Oct. 5), no hotspots were detected by the Terra and Aqua satellites, and today, there are three hotspots in this province," Evi Diana of the Pangkalpinang meteorology office remarked.

The hotspots were found in the districts of South and Central Bangka, she stated.

"In South Bangka, two hotspots are detected in Toboali sub-district, and in Central Bangka, one is found in Gantung sub-district," she noted.

She urged the local farmers to not use fire to clear land.

In the meantime, NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites detected 1,820 hotspots of land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands on Sunday, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

Of the total, 1,563 were found in Sumatra and 257 in Kalimantan, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the head of BNPB's Information Data Center and Public Relations, said on Monday.

He remarked that 1,340 of the 1,563 hotspots in Sumatra were found in South Sumatra, nine in Riau, 131 in Jambi, 22 in Bangka Belitung, 57 in Lampung, and one in Riau Islands, among others.

Nugroho revealed that 51 of the 257 hotspots in Kalimantan were detected in West Kalimantan, 108 in Central Kalimantan, 71 in South Kalimantan, and 27 in East Kalimantan.

The increasing number of hotspots from land and forest fires has led to the haze disaster.

"The haze has reduced visibility and disrupted flights," he pointed out.

On Sunday, at 5 p.m. local time, the visibility reached 500 meters in Pekanbaru and Jambi, 700 meters in Palembang, 800 meters in Ketapang, 400 meters in Sintang, one thousand meters in Pontianak, and 100 meters in Palangkaraya.

"Based on the ISPU, the air quality also reached an unhealthy level, thereby making it hazardous to human health," he affirmed.

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Editor : Mulki


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