Haze closes airport on Sumatra
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Jakarta (dpa) - Thick smog from forest fires on Indonesia's Sumatra has paralysed one of the island's airports, officials said Tuesday.
At least 36 flights to and from the Sultan Thaha airport in Jambi province were cancelled Monday as visibility dropped as low as 90metres, said Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.
The airport remained "paralysed" on Tuesday because of poor visibility, said Muhammad Suadi, disaster management chief in Jambi.
Sutopo said pollution indices in the area had reached "very unhealthy levels." Fire-fighting aircraft that planned to drop water on the fires were unable to take off, said Sutopo.
Satellite images showed 413 hotspots indicating fires on Sumatra, he said.
"I can hardly see see anything, especially in the afternoon," said Iko Matusunia, a resident who lives near the Jambi airport.
She said the situation was worsened by the prolonged drought.
"Wells in this area have run dry and we have to buy water from vendors," she said.
The government said last week thart more than 25 million people on Sumatra and Borneo islands were exposed to the haze.
Haze emergencies have been declared in six provinces and school students have been told to stay at home.
Haze from forest fires is an annual hazard in Indonesia. The practice of open burning to clear land is illegal but is common in the country.
The government has warned that the El Nino weather phenomenon, which is expected to last until October, would result in an extended dry spell and more forest fires in Indonesia.
