Indonesian officials said yesterday that Singapore and Malaysia were less likely to repeat the asphyxia haze surrounding Singapore and Malaysia, as the weather in Sumatra and Kalimantan is expected to return to the pattern of the past few years, thereby reducing the threat of fires in forests and land.
Last year the number of hot spots – triggered by a fire that covered forests and drylands on two Indonesian islands – was recorded at a surprisingly 78,164, resulting in haze, Singapore and Malaysia’s API levels at very unhealthy levels.
This year, 14,490 hot spots were recorded, with no large fumes.
“El Niño or La Niña will not be any stronger,” said Dr. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency BNPB, in an annual briefing in Jakarta.
“This means that there will not be a dry season too dry, the same with the wet season.
El Niño is a weather phenomenon that has led to the region’s long hot and dry weather as it did last year, while La Niña gave the opposite effect.
He said Indonesia’s forests and land fires will also occur next year, but the number and coverage of hotspots will be small compared to last year.
difficult
“Why we can not count the hotspots as zero? It’s hard because it’s a habit and life for the people, and villagers are clearing their farms by burning,” he said.
Sutopo said the decline was due not only to better weather, but to tougher law enforcement by wrong companies and individuals, as well as better fire protection measures by both the government and the private sector.
wahyudis@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Dec 30, 2016.
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