Of the total, West Kalimantan had 193 hotspots, and Papua, 143 hotspots, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, remarked here, Tuesday,
Some 31 hotspots were detected in Lampung; 19 in West Java; 12 in Bangka Belitung Islands; 11 each in Aceh, North Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan; 10 in East Java; four each in Maluku and Central Kalimantan; and three in East Kalimantan.
Moreover, 48 hotspots were found in East Nusa Tenggara, eight in South Sulawesi, seven in West Nusa Tenggara, three in Riau, and two in North Maluku.
The number of areas gutted by wildfires has decreased over the past several years, from 2.61 million hectares in 2015, down to 438 thousand hectares in 2016, and the figure is expected to further decrease to 20 thousand hectares in 2017.
The authorities have anticipated an increase in the number of hotspots during the peak of the dry season from late August to September this year.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
