Indonesia tests dry ice to fight haze over Palembang

JAKARTA: Indonesia has mobilised nearly 17,000 personnel to battle forest and land fires in Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra, as thick haze threatens public health and poor visibility hampers aerial firefighting operations.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) acting head of disaster data, information and communication Berton Panjaitan said 4,686 personnel had been deployed in Central Kalimantan and 12,285 in South Sumatra, the two provinces prioritised for firefighting operations.

"Ground operations are being prioritised over aerial operations because poor visibility has restricted water-bombing helicopter operations," he said in a statement.

As of Oct 13, Berton said firefighting operations had covered 521.69 hectares in Central Kalimantan, including areas within Tanjung Puting National Park and Seruyan Regency.

Meanwhile, the Forestry Ministry said the number of high-confidence hotspots across six priority provinces had nearly doubled to 294 as of 9pm on Wednesday, from 148 a day earlier. The nationwide total rose to 372.

Central Kalimantan recorded the highest number of hotspots at 130, followed by South Sumatra (91), West Kalimantan (59), Jambi (nine) and South Kalimantan (five). Riau reported none.

Air quality monitoring continued to show very unhealthy to hazardous conditions in Central Kalimantan and parts of South Kalimantan, South Sumatra and Jambi.

In South Sumatra, the government was set to test the dispersal of 1.5 tonnes of dry ice over Palembang on Thursday to reduce the thick haze, Antara news agency reported. The technique was developed in cooperation with Thailand.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said President Prabowo Subianto had ordered the trial, which aims to improve visibility from about 1,000 metres to 5,000 metres. The method could be extended to other affected provinces if successful.

Separately, Berton said Japan's military firefighting mission in Kalimantan ended on Sept 29 after its agreed 14-day deployment.

Japan had formally notified Indonesia of the mission's conclusion and submitted an operational report, he said.

Berton said offers of international assistance must be submitted through official government channels, with details of the personnel, equipment and duration of deployment.