Forest born haze from Sumatra, Kalimantan affects Jakarta

The haze emanating from the forest fires that have hit the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, has affected Jakarta, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

"Parts of Jakarta has been shrouded by thin haze coming from Sumatra and Kalimantan," Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman of the BNPB, said here Sunday.

The haze has also affected Banten, West Java, parts of East Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, he added.

A monitoring by the Himawari satellite on Sunday (Oct. 25) at 8:30 a.m. local time, showed that the smoke has spread to Jakarta and other provinces.

On Saturday (Oct. 24), the Himawari satellite detected thin haze over Java Sea and parts of Jakarta.

A joint task force is still doing its utmost to extinguish forest, peatland and plantation fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan particularly.

"Aerial operations by using water bombings are being carried out continuously, and so land operations," he noted.

So far, more than 43 million people on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan have been exposed to the haze. 

Earlier, the haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan has affected neighboring countries mainly Singapore, and parts of Malaysia and Thailand.

Source: ANTARA