REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- Haze coming from bush fires, has reduced visibility in Pelalawan District, Riau Province, to 50 meters.

"Pelalawan is the worst affected by haze that has reduced visibility to 50 meters," Sugarin, head of the Pekanbaru meteorology office, said here, Monday.

In the provincial capital of Pekanbaru and Rengat city, Indragiri Hulu District, the visibility dropped to around 200 meters, and in Dumai 800 meters.

The Terra and Aqua satellite detected 45 hotspots across Riau Province on Monday morning.

Indragiri Hilir has 10 hotspots, Kampar and Siak three respectively, and Rokan Hulu and Rokan Hilir two each.

Of the 45 hotspots, 27 indicated forest, peatland and plantation fires at the accuracy rate of 70 percent.

Due to the wildfires, Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru is nearly paralyzed as haze has forced the delays of hundreds of flight schedules since early September.

In the meantime, President Joko Widodo has ordered to activate command posts to control and tackle smoke problems in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

"The president has ordered the opening of four command posts in Kalimantan and four in Sumatra," Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Syamsul Maarif stated on Friday after attending a limited cabinet meeting led by the president at the State Palace, Jakarta.

He noted that the president is giving serious attention to the problem and has also planned to personally inspect the on-field situation.

Syamsul remarked that four measures to be taken to deal with the smoke arising from bush fires, include extinguishing the fires as early as possible, ensuring law enforcement, undertaking health efforts, and informing the public to not set fire for land-clearing activities.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment Bambang Hendroyono pointed out that, as the field coordinator, his office would work with all concerned parties to immediately overcome the smoke problem.

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