“We have issued an early warning for the dry season in some districts with alert status,” head of the South Kalimantan Climatology Station, Johannes Apoh Damanik, said during a coordination meeting on wildfires on Monday.
The regions put on alert include Tabalong, Balangan, Hulu Sungai Utara, Hulu Sungai Tengah, Hulu Sungai Selatan, Tapin, Banjar, Barito Kuala, Tanah Laut, Banjarbaru, and Banjarmasin, Damanik said.
As of the end of July 2025, the South Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) recorded 75 forest and land fires on 59 hectares of land and detected more than 1,900 hotspots in 13 districts/cities, he said.
As the governor informed, the districts of Hulu Sungai Selatan and Banjar have declared a state of emergency for drought, Damanik added.
The districts experiencing peak dry season in August are Tabalong, Balangan, Hulu Sungai Tengah, Hulu Sungai Utara, Hulu Sungai Selatan, Tapin, Banjar, Banjarbaru, Banjarmasin, Barito Kuala, as well as most of Tanah Laut, Tanah Bumbu, and the western part of Kotabaru, he said.
The areas bracing for the peak dry season in September and October include Sebuku Island, which is a part of Laut Island (Kotabaru), the southern part of Tanah Bambu, the eastern part of Laut Island, and the eastern part of Kotabaru, he added.
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Translator: Tumpal AA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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