South Sumatra extends weather modification to fight fires, haze

Palembang (ANTARA) - South Sumatra's provincial government will continue dry ice seeding and weather modification operations to curb haze and extinguish hotspots from forest and land fires in several areas, Governor Herman Deru said.

Deru spoke on Sunday after visiting a fire-hit site in Tulung Selapan Urban Village, Ogan Komering Ilir District, saying the efforts would continue even though rain has begun falling in parts of the province.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has indicated the weather will turn dry again before a wider rainy season arrives, projected for late November to early December, according to Deru.

"Based on BMKG forecasts, there remains a possibility that the weather will become dry again; therefore, our efforts to manage forest and land fires must continue," he said.

Deru said one aircraft is conducting dry ice seeding, while two Hercules aircraft support the distribution and execution of weather modification.

The measures aim to disperse smoke trapped in the atmosphere and raise the chance of rain clouds forming over fire-hit areas.

Meanwhile, the provincial government is tightening oversight and restoration of peat areas to prevent forest and land fires from recurring every year.

South Sumatra holds about 10 percent of Indonesia's peatland, Deru noted. Its peat hydrological zones span two million hectares, of which 1.27 million hectares have been hit by fires.

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Translator: M. Imam Pramana, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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