Thick haze from forest fires covers Pontianak, Indonesia, disrupting flights as officials rush to extinguish fires in multiple areas of Kalimantan Island after prolonged hot and dry weather worsened the fire situation.
Since last Friday, the city of Pontianak in West Kalimantan province, Indonesia, has been blanketed by dense white and yellow haze, reducing visibility to less than one kilometer and causing ongoing flight disruptions for several days.
The haze results from forest fires in various parts of Kalimantan Island, with the situation worsened by dry conditions and an intensifying El Niño weather pattern; poor air quality and limited visibility also hinder firefighting operations.
Indonesian officials stated that firefighting equipment from Japan, which arrived last Thursday, is currently being used to help manage the situation.
Although seasonal forest fires in Indonesia have begun to decline, many areas of Kalimantan Island remain shrouded in haze. Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry reported that recent monitoring data shows a significant decrease in high-probability fire hotspots in Central and West Kalimantan provinces, with no such hotspots detected in Riau province.
However, officials warn that part of the haze covering Pontianak city may have drifted in from other Kalimantan provinces where forest fires are still active.
According to the Ministry of Forestry, from January to July, over 1,262,500 rai of land in Indonesia have been burned—nearly three times the size of Singapore.
The haze's impact extends beyond Indonesia, reaching the Philippines over 800 kilometers away, and affecting Malaysia to the extent that Sarawak state on Borneo island declared a state of emergency due to air pollution last week.
Additionally, many areas on Sumatra Island in Indonesia have suffered from air pollution severe enough to suspend school classes, affecting more than 1.4 million students nationwide.
Indonesian authorities continue to intensify firefighting efforts across multiple provinces, receiving aerial support and equipment from several countries and international partners including Japan, the US, Russia, Australia, Canada, and Ukraine to control the fires and reduce the toxic haze impact.
:AP
Click to read related news aboutInternational news