Satellites Detect 531 Hotspots In Sumatra

Pekanbaru, Riau (Antara Bali)- The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 531 hotspots spreading in seven provinces on Sumatra Island, Sunday.

Of the total hotspots, 483 were found in South Sumatra Province, Sugarin, head of the Pekanbaru meteorology office, said.

"Besides, 55 hotspots were detected in Jambi, Lampung five, Bangka Belitung 16, Bengkulu two and Riau Islands eight," Sugarin said.

Riau Province had 12 hotspots, including  three in Pelalawan, two in Siak,  three in Indragiri Hilir (Inhil), and four in Indragiri Hulu.

The number of hotspots in Riau Province dropped drastically following heavy rains on early Sunday.

The visibility in Pekanbaru improved to 1,000 meters, compared with 30 meters to 100 meters during the previous week.  

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) had recorded a total of 2,742 hotspots of forest, peatland, and plantation fires across Indonesia on Oct. 22, including 703 hotspots in South Sumatra, 36 in Riau, and 23 in Bangka Belitung.

"Thick haze is still shrouding Sumatra, Kalimantan, and parts of Papua," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), stated in Jakarta on Oct. 23, 2015.(WDY)