REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- The Pekanbaru Office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has detected 813 hotspots across seven provinces in Sumatra Islands.
Based on data received here on Sunday, 645 hotspots had been identified in the province of South Sumatra.
"Furthermore, hotspots were detected in Jambi with 70 spots," Head of BMKG Pekanbaru Sugarin said here on Sunday.
According to Sugarin, there are 27 hotspots in Lampung, 11 in Bangka Belitung, five hotspots in Bengkulu and six hotspots in Riau Islands.
Meanwhile, Sugarin explained that 49 hotspots were observed in Riau, 35 of which caused land and forest fires with a confidence level of above 70 percent.
"In Riau, there are 35 hotspots spreading in Meranti islands, Bengkalis, Indragiri Hilir, Indragiri Hulu, Pelalawan and Siak," he said.
He pointed out that the highest number of hotspots were detected in Siak with 12 spots, Meranti with eight spots, Bengkalis with six spots.
"Meanwhile hotspots were detected in Pelalawan with two spots, Indragiri Hilir and Indragiri Hulu with three spots," he said.
With skyrocketing hotspots in Sumatra and Riau, some areas in the two regions are shrouded in thick smoke.
Currently, in Pelalawan, the visibility is around 400 meters, Rengat (600 meters), Pekanbaru (800 meters), and Dumai city (500 meters).
Earlier, Indonesia and Japan have agreed to join in the ongoing fire fighting efforts by delivering a special liquid substance to certain areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan where there are still many hotspots.
The Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Yasuaki Tanizaki, said here on Friday that the neighboring countries can support Indonesia in handling the forest fires.
The forest and land fires that occurred in several islands, including Sumatra and Kalimantan, have caused haze that has also spread to other neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
"I believe that the ASEAN countries must assist each other. This could be a chance for the ASEAN countries to show their solidarity to mitigate the disaster," Tanizaki said.
The Japanese government has given 100 bottles of a fire extinguisher liquid substance, namely "Miracle Foam a+," to the Indonesian government and it will be delivered gradually to Palembang of South Sumatra from Saturday (Oct 17) to Monday (Oct 19).
Several experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will also be sent by the Japanese government to assist the forest fire extinguishing efforts.
"We hoped the emergency assistance can be utilized by the Indonesian government. I hope it helps in easing the haze disaster," Tanizaki said.
The ambassador hoped that the ASEAN countries can handle the menace of haze disaster together, thereby underscoring the close friendship among the nations in South East Asia.
Additionally, several countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, have assisted Indonesia by deploying air planes that can conduct water bombing in several hotspots in Sumatra Island.
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