Malaysia May Become Hazy Again As Forest Fires Are Spreading Fast in Indonesia
July 20, 2018, By Tara Thiagarajan
According to the New Straits Times, West Kalimantan, Indonesia has reportedly been enduring some hot weather as of late, triggering a number of forest fires. It was reported that 194 hot spots were detected yesterday evening (19th July).
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Unit revealed that chances for forest fires to occur in this region are very high as of yesterday, according to the most recent graphic published on their website.
Source: Indonesia Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Unit
According to NST, out of the 194 hot spots in Kalimantan, 69 of them were categorized as high-risk areas where forest fires are very likely to occur, while 47 were rated with a moderate chance of developing fires.
On top of that, forest fires spreading across hundreds of hectares have also been raging in Sumatra because of the hot weather, prompting authorities to double down on efforts to put out the blaze. Also, 11 helicopters are reportedly being used to extinguish the fires. Yikes, this does not look good!
Meanwhile, the director of Sarawak’s Fire and Rescue Department, Nor Hisham Mohammad, told the daily that there have been a total of 112 cases of natural fires reported in the state within the past five days alone (15th to 20th July).
He was quoted as saying, “We have deployed a team to monitor a hotspot location detected in Meludam, Betong. We advise the public to cease any open-burning activities as it can have an impact not just on the locals, who are exposed to smoke and other pollutants, but may also trigger the haze.”
So, looks like we should prepare ourselves for a possible haze coming over to our shores soon. Hopefully, it won’t be so bad this time!