Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - A total of 19 hotspots were detected in three provinces on Sumatra Island on Wednesday, according to data released by the Pekanbaru Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency (BMKG).

Of the 19 hotspots, 11 were found in Aceh Province, spokesman of the Pekanbaru BMKG Slamet Riyadi stated here on Wednesday.

North Sumatra has six hotspots and Riau has two, he revealed.

In Riau, the hotspots were detected in the districts of Bengkalis and Pelalawan.

Earlier, Riau also had two hotspots respectively in the districts of Siak and Indragiri.

He, however, noted that the hotspots did not always develop into forest fires in the current rainy season as the province had experienced low to moderate intensity rain.

The agency has forecast that the rainy season would peak in March and April.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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