It’s Finally Raining in Sumatera & Kalimantan, Hotspots Reduced by Half to 1,740!

God bless the rains down in Indonesia~

We may be looking at clear skies again but the haze that was once covering our skies was blown back to Indonesia.  At a point of time, the skies in Riau turned red and the government actually declared a state of emergency!

But, here’s some good news! It has started to rain in a few areas in Sumatera & Kalimantan, Indonesia starting Tuesday (24th September), reported Awani. The rainfall in a few areas of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera, West Kalimantan, Mid  Kalimantan  and South Kalimantan has effectively reduced the number of hotspots by nearly half.

Agus Wibowo from the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management said,

“There were 1,744 hotspots on Wednesday as compared to 3,150 hotspots two days back.”

Meanwhile, the Indonesian police and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Indonesia have detained about 323 suspects that they believe to be involved in the burning of forests.

On 23rd September, the governor of Riau officially declared the province to be in a state of emergency after the state’s Air Pollutant Index (API) exceeded the 500 mark.

Whew! It’s really nice to hear that hotspots are being reduced. Let’s hope that it continues to do so!

 

Also read: BREAKING: Riau Declared State Of Emergency From Haze, Govt Starting Evacuations Immediately