The president says it is battling the haze with aircraft, artificial rain and even prayer. FMTNews
Indonesian President Widodo says nearly 6,000 troops have been sent to hotspots to help put out fires. JAKARTA: Indonesia is battling forest fires causing toxic haze across Southeast Asia with aircraft, artificial rain and even prayer, President Joko Widodo said during a visit to a hard-hit area today.
Widodo said nearly 6,000 troops had been sent to hotspots to help put out fires. As well as firefighters on the ground, dozens of aircraft were being used to seed clouds and bomb blazes with water, he said.Forest fires are raging on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, sending smoke across the region,including towards neighbours Malaysia and Singapore. The toxic smoke caused by open burning to clear land for plantations is an annual problem for Indonesia and its neighbours, but has been worsened this year by particularly dry weather. Authorities on Monday said they had arrested nearly 200 people suspected of being involved in activities that led to the out-of-control fires.The Asean meteorological agency said today the number of hotspots had stabilised, but a thick haze continued to cloak the region. On Borneo island, which Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei, pollution levels were “hazardous”, according to environment ministry data. Hundreds of schools across Indonesia were shut. In Peninsular Malaysia, the meteorological office and the Royal Malaysian Air Force were working together to seed clouds with chemicals in the hope that rainfall would clear the haze.Air quality was at “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy’ levels in many parts of Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. Sri Aman in Sarawak hit a “hazardous” reading of 367 on the air pollutant index , the highest recorded since the current spell of haze began. Air quality improved in Singapore and was in the “moderate” range after slipping to “unhealthy” levels over the weekend, officials there said.
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