After extinguishing wildfires in the province, the ministry and the task force are now focused on preventive efforts, Raffles B. Panjaitan, the ministry`s Director of Forest and Land Fire Control (PKHL), said in a statement, on Wednesday.
"The ministry, in cooperation with TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces), Polri (Indonesian Police), the community, and the private sector, has carried out efforts to extinguish the fires in the fields. Hot weather, however, has become one of the triggers of forest fires," he noted.
The task force had carried out various efforts in the ground and air to extinguish forest fires, particularly in Meranti Islands and Rupat Sub-districts in Bengkalis District, and in Dumai, Riau Province.
To prevent a fire, the National Agency for Application and Study of Technology (BPPT) has used a climate modification technology to make artificial rains, in order to make remote areas wet.
BPPT Chairman Hammam Riza remarked that the agency is conducting a rewetting endeavor over dried peatland area which is prone to fire.
He, however, revealed the shortage of helicopters used to sow salt in the air will make it difficult for the agency to make artificial rains on Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands at the same time.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the National Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) explained that Indonesia will experience weak El Nino nature phenomenon starting from June 2019.
"The upcoming El Nino will be weak, but it will last until September 2019. Hence, we must be ready to face it," she added.
She lauded BPPT`s plan to make artificial rains from March until May in order to make peatland wet.
During the January 1 to March 4, 2019 period, NOAA satellites detected a total of 160 hotspots, down 110 hotspots or 42.02 percent from 276 hotspots during the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, NASA`s Terra and Aqua Satellites detected 432 hotspots, with a trust rate above 80 percent, during the January 1 to March4, 2019 period, up 77 hotspots or 21.69 percent from 355 hotspots in the same period of 2018.
A total area measuring 1,890.31 hectares were affected by forest and land fires during the period.
Reporting by Virna PS, Fardah Assegaf
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
