Indonesia launches cloud seeding as haze levels begin to climb again
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Indonesia was to begin cloud seeding to induce rain over Riau province as early as yesterday, officials said, as the smoke from forest fires returned to shroud parts of the province and neighbouring Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur and Muar.
The skies are still clear in Singapore, but the National Environment Agency (NEA) says that the haze may return if the wind changes direction. Yesterday’s air quality until 4pm was expected to be good to moderate.
NEA chief executive Ronnie Tay on Monday registered Singapore’s concerns over a sudden spike in the number of forest-fire hotspots in Sumatra in a letter to Arief Yuwono, deputy environment minister. He also extended Singapore’s support and assistance to Indonesia. The number of hotspots in Sumatra rose sharply at the weekend.
On Monday, the PSI hit hazardous levels in parts of Riau, which affected several flights in the morning. For instance, the Pollutant Standards Index reading was 619 in Rumbai, north of provincial capital Pekanbaru.
Satellite readings showed 252 hotspots across Sumatra on Monday, with 167 in Riau. The province had 173 hotspots on Sunday, up sharply from 63 a day earlier.
In Malaysia, the Air Pollutant Index reading in places such as Malacca, Muar in Johor and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur shot above 100, which is in the unhealthy range.
The return of the forest fires before October, when the dry season ends, had been anticipated.
But the sharp jump in the number of hotspots over the weekend came as a surprise, said Heru Widodo, head of the weather modification team at the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology.
“We have not had the clouds to seed the past several days, but we should see them back above Riau on July 23 or July 24, according to the latest weather forecast,” he said. Forest fires sent pollution levels to record highs in Riau province and also Malaysia and Singapore last month.
After declaring the haze in Riau a national emergency, Jakarta took charge of efforts, including intensive cloud-seeding and water-bombing operations. Soldiers were sent in to help put out the fires. They were pulled back gradually after the emergency status was lifted on July 10.
